


Saiyuki 5389: The God in the Machine

by Caeseria



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Alley Sex, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Group Sex, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-07
Updated: 2010-09-07
Packaged: 2017-10-11 14:12:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 28,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/113250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caeseria/pseuds/Caeseria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sanzo finds himself the unwilling Carrier of four out of the five Tenchi Kaigen codes.  Teaming up with the ikkou, Sanzo has to fight his way across the galaxy and stop the Minus Wave virus – and Nii - before it's too late.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [who_la_hoop](https://archiveofourown.org/users/who_la_hoop/gifts).



> Many, many thanks to my darling [](http://sharpeslass.livejournal.com/profile)[**sharpeslass**](http://sharpeslass.livejournal.com/) for the beta and the encouragement. Thanks also go out to [](http://who-la-hoop.livejournal.com/profile)[**who_la_hoop**](http://who-la-hoop.livejournal.com/) for such an awesome prompt and allowing me such free reign with my imagination. Written for the [](http://community.livejournal.com/7thnight_smut/profile)[**7thnight_smut**](http://community.livejournal.com/7thnight_smut/) AU com on livejournal. 28,600 words *coughs*

  
** Saiyuki 5389: The God in the Machine**

  
_Temple Moon of Keiun, Chang'an Sector_

The ground rolled beneath Sanzo's feet and he felt his stomach drop at the sensation. For one split second, up was no longer up, more slightly _sideways,_ and 'down' seemed to have disappeared altogether. He was used to this in space but definitely not planetside and Sanzo felt slightly nauseous. He pressed his palm against the hard glass of the touch screen, feeling the tips of his fingers slide slightly with sweat, willing himself to keep contact. To fuck up now – here, right at the end… dead or not, Koumyou would not be amused.

Another deafening explosion rocked the complex, sending a fine curtain of dust to the floor, along with bits of the ceiling. There was a tang of burnt ozone present in the air and Sanzo could taste it on the back of his tongue. He figured they were safe enough underground but if that strike had detonated close to the surface they were screwed.

"Don't remove your hand! The upload is nearly complete."

Sanzo spared a glance and a sneer towards the tall, black-haired, woman dressed in a lab coat. "Do I look fucking stupid?" he snarled. "Do your job and I'll take care of mine."

"You'll have to leave immediately," the woman continued, as if Sanzo hadn't spoken. She began tapping away at a keyboard, long, red fingernails flying over the console. "We'll have to move to plan B; the Uchuujin have almost destroyed what's left of the temple complex above and the landing pad is no longer viable. There's a back up craft I have hidden two klicks away, which has, so far, gone unnoticed."

Sanzo felt a small tingle in his palm chakra, signaling the completion of the upload, and slowly moved his hand away from the monitor, clenching and unclenching his fists. He could feel the slight fizz of code as it crawled under his skin, almost as if it was sentient.

"What about you? Isn't that craft your escape route?" He reached up and disconnected the jack from the small socket at the base of his neck.

"I hardly think that matters now," Kanzeon replied with a grimace as another explosion rocked the facility. "The Uchuujin blitzkrieg is moving closer; we don't have time to argue. Jiroushin will escort you as far as he can. You must survive, Sanzo. SUTRA is the only hope we have against the Minus Wave."

"Hn." Sanzo picked up his pistol and checked the cartridge, finally stowing the gun in his thigh holster once he was satisfied. He wasn't going to think about the sacrifices people were making here, now. It was fucking suicidal; and wasn't he the idiot for agreeing to this in the first place?

Kanzeon spared Sanzo a withering glance, good enough to strip paint off walls. "Still here? Get moving, before the entire ceiling comes down on us. Remember, you need to rendezvous with the ikkou. I've sent the coordinates to the escape craft."

"The _ikkou_? Oh fuck, no. Those three bastards are good for nothing smugglers and petty thieves. Working with them once was more than enough," Sanzo objected.

"And they've been working for Koumyou and me for longer than you realize. Now get out of here."

Sanzo risked a glance around the tree, pistol at the ready. In the distance, the forest surrounding what was left of the temple was on fire, turning the sky a dull orange. Smoke blanketed the air, turning the sunlight weak, filtered through with dust. He coughed and blinked rapidly, trying to clear the grit from his eyes. The landing pad was only a couple hundred feet away but there was no sign of the Uchuujin themselves. Perhaps they were content to bombard the small moon from space?

Kanzeon's escape craft was still whole and Sanzo knew he needed to get out now, before that changed. He ran across the clearing, ducking to keep a low profile, gun at the ready. Quickly, he keyed the lock on the hatch, slamming the door behind him before looking around. Fuck, he hated inter-system craft like this – barely large enough for the one passenger and, damn it, it had a cryogenics pod stuffed in the back. Change of plans, then; he wouldn't be meeting up with the ikkou as soon as he'd hoped. He slid into the pilot's seat and started the ignition sequence, locking the safety belts over his shoulders and making sure the lap belt was tight. He checked that all lights were green across the board, ignored the one little flashing orange light in the corner of the panel and pulled back on the throttle, feeling the craft engage thrusters, pushing him upward. He let the craft hover briefly, getting a feel for its workings and engaged the altitude thrusters. In a matter of moments he was clear of the lower atmosphere, g-forces pressing him back into the pilot's seat. The sky outside changed from dull orange to muted violet, finally to the black of space as he punched through the upper atmosphere. After a few moments stars appeared, winking into existence as he entered proper space.

Sanzo let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He risked a glance to the side, flicking a switch to show the rear view behind the spacecraft. Keiun filled the view screen, slowly getting smaller. He could see the damage on the surface, huge craters, drifting smoke: the forest moon burning. As if by magic, a battlecruiser appeared, swooping low in the atmosphere, raining violet fire down on the moon below. _A fucking Eirean Class cruiser, out here? What the fuck?_

Sanzo banked hastily, determined to put the nearest planet between himself and the battlecruiser. He doubted if they'd take much note of a craft the size of a gnat's arse but it paid to be careful.

Intense, white light burned Sanzo's vision, sending flickering afterglows trailing across his eyelids. There seemed to be a sudden lack of motion before he was slammed back into the pilot's chair, hard. He gritted his teeth as the craft was tossed around like a small boat at sea, battered by invisible waves. He steeled himself and opened his eyes, determined to meet his demise head on if need be. Keiun was gone from the view screen; the only thing visible was the battlecruiser hanging in space like a giant insect, riding out the shockwaves from the moon's destruction. Small rocks and debris began to bounce off the craft's shielding and the board was lit with orange and red lights, incessant warning alarms beeping, filling Sanzo's head with distracting noise. He reached over as far as his harness would allow, pressing a switch and shutting off the noise. The lights continued to flash, then finally started to return to green, a minor few still glowing orange and red as his craft righted itself.

Red warning lights were bad. Perhaps he wasn't going to make the system's edge at this rate. _Fucking Uchuujin._ He edged around the nearest planet, which the nav told him was Kinzan, and set a direct line for the quickest way out of the system.

He was fucked. He'd been flying the gnat at a breakneck speed, pushing the craft's limits, along with his own. Sanzo was tired; he hadn't slept in two days, what with the download and constant bombardment from the skies. His eyes felt itchy and heavy and he knew he was nearing his limits. Any moment now he was going to make a crucial mistake that would cost him the mission. It took precious seconds for him to notice red lights creeping across the board again. _Must have damaged something after all when Keiun blew… _ Sanzo glanced behind him, glaring at the cryo pod. He had no choice, he decided. The ship wouldn't make the rendezvous, that much was clear. He was gonna have to do this the fucking hard way, as usual.

He unbuckled his harness and checked to make sure he had his gun handy. He crossed to the pod and began to key in the homing sequence, noticing the pod had already been fed coordinates for the meeting point, probably by Kanzeon, before the planet blew. He paused for a moment, brain working over the thought that Keiun was irrevocably gone; he'd seen it destroyed. Rage welled up inside him but Sanzo forced it down; he didn't have time for that right now. Survival came first and foremost and then, he vowed, he'd have his revenge.

The small craft gave a worrying shudder and Sanzo heard the distinct sound of something creaking. That was never a good fucking sign. He glanced at what he could see of the board, which was now lit up with flashing red lights. Smoke began to fill the cockpit, along with the smell of burning. _Fuck_. Sanzo placed the gun inside the pod and climbed inside, ignoring the shivering of the craft beneath his feet. He pressed another button and the glass top began to slide down, covering him, locking him inside. Sound was suddenly muffled and all Sanzo could hear was his own fast, unsteady breathing. He felt claustrophobic and panicky. Shit. No time to think about that.

He pressed another button and felt the ground fall from beneath him as the craft disengaged the pod. With shaking hands, Sanzo keyed the final cryo sequence, wishing it would hurry up. He almost preferred to deal with the thought of being frozen rather than watching the next couple of seconds play out.

The small craft seemed to fall away from him, when, in fact, logic told Sanzo he was the one falling through space. He mentally cursed the designers of the pod for putting in a fucking clear window, giving him a front row view of the entire thing. He swore he could almost feel the final shudder the craft made before it seemed to fly apart above him, the fuel tanks exploding messily, spouting gouts of fire, instantly extinguished in the vacuum of space. Sanzo felt himself flinch, wondering if he was about to be pelted with shrapnel and the wreckage of the craft, however it was clear he was falling rapidly toward Kinzan and away from the debris field.

_Please let me pass out, I don't fucking care at this point_, Sanzo thought. _Sleep, you bastard, come on._ The pod gave a lurch and then began to drift silently. Sanzo felt his eyes getting heavy, still not sure if it was the lack of sleep catching up with him, or the cryo pod doing its job and putting him into hibernation. What if the pod had malfunctioned? What if he drifted, awake for days, clawing at the casing in an effort to get out? Would he go insane, key the release for the pod, preferring to die out there in the quiet of space, with no one to hear his screams? Or would the Uchuujin pick up the homing signal?

Sanzo shifted uncomfortably, watching the starscape shift above him. The stars were winking out now, one by one. He was still falling gently; he could feel it. It was like floating, sort of, with no control over his environment. The stars were definitely fading. Yes. He could sleep now and, for once, not have to worry.

_City Planet of Haven, Somewhere Near the Vermillion Swan Nebula_

Gojyo groaned softly and shook his head, trying to clear his vision. Gradually the fuzzy shapes and colors began to resolve themselves into actual things, like walls and the ceiling, although looking up apparently wasn't good for his immediate health. He swallowed hard and concentrated on not throwing up. Once he'd passed through the prickly-sweat stage of imminent vomiting and resisted the urge, he found his vision clearing a little more.

_What the hell had happened?_ He tried to gather his thoughts and remember. Perhaps that would keep his mind off the floor tilting alarmingly. _Right, secret mission._ That Kanzeon bitch had recalled them; Hakkai had used the word 'rescinded.' Hah. Had _rescinded_ their sleeper status, sent them off to locate and, if possible, acquire some programming code that was vital to stopping the Minus Wave. Gojyo laughed softly and reached up, checking his head, ignoring the fact he couldn't move much due to the holocuffs. He could feel wetness along his hairline, sticky now. Must be where that bastard had pistol-whipped him and taken him down. Nice bruise though; it should look great along with his scars.

Hakkai had assured Gojyo that this was simple mission: get in, locate the target, steal the information, and get out. The old hag had apparently forgotten to mention to Hakkai that this Uchuujin lord had about a hundred retainers in his party, all disguised guards and mercenaries. Things had not gone well. Well, things had gone well, right up until the alarm went off. Apparently this code or whatever was something worth protecting. Gojyo had done something no-one in their right mind would do; he'd plugged in and downloaded the code, directly into his body.

Which was why they hadn't killed him – yet. It had seemed like a smart idea at the fucking time, he reminded himself. How long until they figured out how to separate the code from his DNA? He was already starting to feel a little… weird, truth be told. Okay, fucking weird, like sweat breaking on his forehead and sorta clammy, along with a disturbing feeling, kinda like he could feel the code moving, settling in his lower belly as it crawled under his skin. Good job he was crouched in the corner and not standing up, or he might have passed out.  
The door to Gojyo's temporary prison slid open, revealing the Uchuujin lord himself, a personal assistant, and two of his muggers, both built like brick shithouses. He was starting to feel sick again. They were going to work him over and then possibly kill him but, no doubt, first do some really creative scientific shit that would hurt like motherfuck, before extracting the stolen code. Gojyo was so not on board for this.

The Uchuujin lord stood in front of Gojyo, crossed his arms, and summoned an impressive glare. Gojyo would have been amused, but he was distracted by the buxom piece of ass trying to inject him with something suspicious.

"Hey, watch what you're doing," he muttered, trying to jerk out of the woman's grip. There was the hiss of an automatic injection gun, followed by… his nausea receding. That was unexpected.

"Yaone has given you something for your head," the lord explained, flicking a strand of long red hair over his shoulder. Various pieces of jewelry and bangles clinked with the movement and his tight, silver, sleeveless jumpsuit stretched in interesting places. "Hopefully this will make questioning you easier."

Gojyo summoned a leer he didn't quite feel but he had to keep up appearances. "Listen, Tin Foil, I got nothing for ya. I downloaded this… code thing by mistake. It looked interesting, that's all."

"My name is Kougaiji. Please use it appropriately."

"Sure. Whatever."

"This would be about the moment that you returned the favor and told me your name," Kougaiji said with a frown.

"I don't think so." Gojyo felt strong enough to pull himself out of the corner and carefully stand up. He stretched his back, checking for other injuries. So far so good. Apart from the holocuffs he was good to go.

Kougaiji's two minions tensed warily at Gojyo's movements, but did nothing further. Kougaiji graced Gojyo with an appraising look. "We'll have to take you off planet, unfortunately. The code extraction will be tricky, not to say marginally dangerous. Or you may die before we reach our destination, depending on how the code reacts to your DNA, it's hard to say. We will be leaving within the hour."

Gojyo waited until Kougaiji left and the door closed again and then slumped against the wall. This was bad shit. Kougaiji, out here? Why? The Uchuujin heir to the Ox Throne? Kanzeon had obviously skipped a few important details when she briefed Hakkai. Gojyo didn't like it; it meant there was much more going on than they had previously thought. Gojyo needed to get out now – not only because of the code and what it was doing to his system but because he needed to get this information to Kanzeon and get some fucking answers.

Gojyo crossed to the door and rested the uninjured side of his head against it, listening. His half Uchuujin heritage gave him better than average hearing but he could sense nothing beyond the door. Was Kougaiji stupid enough to not post guards outside?

He wondered how much time had passed since he'd infiltrated the compound and if he'd missed his pickup. Hakkai had given him two days after the drop off to find what they needed and then get out. He'd spent the last two nights trawling the bars and various dives of this part of South City: drinking, being friendly, and trying to get information. Doing what he did best. It had paid off to a certain extent; luckily, he'd found a talkative minion of an Uchuujin lord and discovered where his retinue was staying. Would he have backed off if he'd known the Uchuujin lord in question was Kougaiji? Probably not, Gojyo decided.

He reached down and lifted up a corner of his shirt, staring at his navel piercing. It was a silver hoop with a small dragon dangling down. Looked decorative, but what most people didn't know was that it was also a passive locator. It was hard to detect for that very reason; it gave off no active energy pulse because it was designed to remain inert until either Goku or Hakkai activated the receiver. Were they looking for him now? He fucking hoped so.

Gojyo dropped his shirt back down and took a deep breath. It was now or never. He sucked on one side of his cheek, using his tongue to poke around until he located a secret pocket in the side of his mouth. He sucked a little more, until he could feel the long needle hidden inside come clear. In seconds he had it between his teeth. Pick the holocuffs or the door first? The holocuffs would make him stand out during an escape attempt but on the other hand, he didn't have any of the distinctive clan markings of the Uchuujin, so he'd be noticed anyway. Better to pick the door lock, get the fuck out of here and hope like hell the Hakuryuu was waiting for him nearby.

It took Gojyo more than five precious minutes to jimmy the cover off of the door controls, poke around with the wiring and manage to reverse the polarity on the door mechanism. There was a quiet _shhhing_ sound as the door slid open. Gojyo pocketed the needle and peered around the door, checking the corridor. It was empty, not even the sound of someone walking the hallways. This was stupid. Were they waiting for him to walk into a trap? Or where they just plain idiots and overconfident? Probably the latter; it hadn't been hard to break in, after all. He really wished he still had his gun but that had been confiscated when he'd been captured, dammit.

He looked left and then right, searching his memory to see if he could place his location in relation to where he'd been captured and, if possible, where the exit might be. In a compound this large, full of family retainers and thugs… it was going to be a million to one fucking chance he got out of here alive. Gojyo shrugged and headed left, praying for a miracle.

In future, Gojyo decided, he was always going to bet on that million to one chance. What the hell were the odds they'd placed him in a room near the edge of the walled compound: to lessen the sound of screaming during torture and save the delicate ears of the Uchuujin royal family? Gojyo snorted. _Un-fucking-real._ From his vantage point by the exit, he could see the landing pad for incoming spacecraft. No doubt the family's own private pad – perhaps he could even steal a cruiser? Not a bad thought. Sure, they were private inter-system craft, not designed for deep space but they would get him off-planet, which considerably upped his chances of hooking up with the Hakuryuu. From space, he could activate his locater properly and not rely on its passive qualities to save his ass.

He edged around the door and stuck his head out, scanning the landscaped terraces for guards. It was dark outside, the sky lit by the weak sliver of a new moon, bathing the grounds with a pale, blue tinge. This was too easy; he felt like he was being played with. Gojyo ducked back inside when he heard movement to his left and the sound of arguing. Four guards rushed by, heading straight past Gojyo, completely ignoring him. He picked up snatches of conversation as he attempted to blend in with the wall, hardly daring to breathe. Someone on the other side of the compound had set off an alarm; there was fighting between the different clan factions within Kougaiji's retinue. Obviously they weren't as coordinated as they had appeared; this explained the miraculous lack of minions during his escape attempt.

Gojyo was about to run for it when he heard another set of footsteps. He glanced out again and saw a lone Uchuujin, obviously running to catch up with his fellows. Gojyo waited until he was almost level with the running Uchuujin and then stepped out, jamming his elbow into the unsuspecting guard's windpipe. The man went down hard, instantly incapacitated, probably dead. Gojyo didn't waste time; he appropriated the guard's laser pistol, instantly feeling better now that he was armed. He dragged the body inside, keyed the door closed and began to make his way through the formal gardens, making sure to scuff up the carefully laid out Zen garden on the way, just because.

The entrance to the landing pad was locked down with a force field, but one blast from the pistol took care of the controls. Gojyo ducked through, keeping to the walls while he scoped out what craft were available for stealing. Just when he'd spied a useful-looking silver number, he felt a sudden updraft, wind whipping his hair about his face. He squinted and shaded his eyes, looking upward. It was just his luck to have a fucking ship dock as he was trying to make a breakout. All he could make out was the underbelly of the ship; it was a big fucker, much larger than the inter-system craft he was planning on stealing.

The ship banked to the right and slipped down farther, hovering for a moment, as the pilot obviously fought to maintain thrusters and not dive belly-down onto the pad. It took Gojyo a few precious moments to realize he knew this ship and its outline. It wasn't very often you came across a white ship shaped like a dragon. He grinned, admiring the Hakuryuu's elegant lines and outstretched wings.

As soon as the Hakuryuu leveled out, Gojyo started running. A hatch slid open in the ship's belly and a docking ramp descended, clanging heavily against the landing pad. He recognized the figure outlined in the door by the spiky hair and low slung pants: Goku.

"Get moving, ya idiot!" Goku yelled, pulling out a pistol and firing past Gojyo's ear at something behind him.

Gojyo ducked instinctively, avoiding instant death as a barrage of tracer fire slid past him. Looked like his time was up and his luck had almost run out.

Hakuryuu's engines whined and Gojyo could see she was hovering just short of landing. Hakkai must be gunning the engines, ready to get the fuck out of here. Goku fired another couple of shots into the shadows by the gate. Gojyo was tempted to take up a defensive position and return fire but knew he had to trust Goku.

"RUN!" Goku yelled. His voice was lost in the roar from the engines but the sentiment was pretty clear.

Ignoring the potential for disaster if he got caught in the back draft from the engines, Gojyo threw caution to the wind and began sprinting, hampered by the holocuffs, which made running difficult.

He reached the ramp just as Hakkai began to pull up. Gojyo threw himself at the end of the docking ramp which was now waist high, felt the gun slip from his hand, and dug his fingers into the metal mesh. He let the gun go, trusting Goku to keep him covered. He was screwed with his hands bound, he couldn't get a proper grip, couldn't even haul himself upward. Instead he was left to hang uselessly, only the upper part of his body on the actual ramp, feet dangling below. He felt the sudden list of the ship as it left the docking pad, a sickening lurch in his stomach as gravity righted itself, followed by a mechanical sound as the ramp began to retract into the cargo bay decking.

Goku was still firing shots into the darkness, ignoring Gojyo for all intents and purposes. Gojyo would have been pissed except for the fact that Goku was probably saving his life. Gojyo was a sitting duck.

Eventually the docking ramp connected and he was able to roll himself into the cargo bay proper. Goku slammed the door shut just in time as the ship banked hard and accelerated, momentarily making Gojyo want to puke at the extra G's until the ship's internal gravity field kicked in.

Panting, he rolled over onto his back, aware his hair was sticking to his sweaty face, that he was dirty and felt half dead. "'M just gonna lie here for a bit, 'kay?" he gasped.

Goku knelt down next to Gojyo, a stupid grin plastered on his face. He moved a piece of hair sticking across Gojyo's left cheek and Gojyo resisted the urge to lean into the touch. Maybe later, like when he wasn't exhausted.

"Ya stupid cockroach," Goku offered without any real hint of antagonism. "Rest is for the dead. We gotta go pick up some luggage Hakkai was talking to Kanzeon about while you were planetside. He needs you to plot a course through the Vermillion Swan Nebula, 'cause the luggage seems to have gotten rerouted."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Gojyo managed to raise his head a few inches off the decking plate and frown.

Goku shrugged. "I dunno, Hakkai's got the details. You got the code, I take it? If ya hand it over, I can have a quick look at it and see if we need to contain it. Kanzeon seemed to give the impression it was kinda dangerous."

Gojyo blinked and let his head thunk back down on to the decking. "Er, yeah, about that… "

_Ten Hours to Luggage Interception_

Gojyo skillfully managed to avoid all of Hakkai's questions until he had a course plotted through the nebula. "Okay, this should do it. There's a small gap in the nebula here we can use to slide through. It's an old smuggler's route. It'll add a few hours to the pickup, but I'm sure this luggage thing will be fine until then?" Hakkai stood over Gojyo's shoulder and looked at the route laid out on screen.

"That should do nicely, Gojyo. Thank you."

Gojyo closed his eyes as he felt Hakkai run his fingertips under his hair, caressing the nape of his neck. "Did you say hello to Goku?"

"Yeah, he saved my ass. Well, not that you didn't, and all, 'cause you were flying, ya know, but –"

"I know, Gojyo," Hakkai replied as he sat back down in the pilot's chair. He sounded faintly amused. "You can thank me later."

Gojyo snorted. "Can we get me outta these cuffs now? I need to lie down and I'm not feeling totally right either."

Hakkai glanced over from the console. "Did something happen I should know about? I thought you said your head was fine?"

"Yeah, yeah." Gojyo waved his hand around. "Nuthin' to worry about."

Hakkai didn't look convinced. "I'll be down as soon as I've gotten Hakuryuu through the initial course changes. Will you be okay until then?"

Gojyo held up his hands. "Gonna get these off. Then we'll talk, okay?" Counting on Hakkai's need to babysit the ship for a few minutes, Gojyo made his way down the steep ramp into the ship proper and through to the galley. Hakuryuu generally used a sublight drive to get them around, but it would be useless through the nebula. They'd have to rely on Gojyo's course changes and the standard engines to avoid the pockets of unstable gases and fuck knew what else that was inside the nebula.

Moving through the galley, he made his way past the sleeping quarters and down a set of steps, searching for Goku. Finally he activated the ship's intercom. "Oi, grease monkey! Where are you?"

"Fuck you." Goku's tinny voice echoed through the wall speaker. "Down in the cargo bay."

"Okay, I'll meet you there." Gojyo took a right at an intersecting passageway and made his way further aft. He keyed open the door and stepped into the two storey high cargo bay. Goku was not visible, so he had to be in his workspace, which was off to the right.

Goku was clearing off his workbench when Gojyo spotted him. "Have a seat," Goku offered with a grin, patting the hard metal surface like it was made of comfortable leather. Gojyo jumped up as best he could with his hands still bound in the holocuffs and let his feet dangle over the sides, hands in his lap. Goku fiddled around on the other workbench for a moment, obviously looking for something in particular. He held up a small lockpick with a triumphant grin and walked toward Gojyo.

"Hold still. This shouldn't hurt… much."

"Hahaha," Gojyo replied sarcastically and held up his wrists.

Goku stepped between Gojyo's legs and began to fiddle with the holocuffs. Gojyo spent a few moments watching before becoming bored.

"So, ya say hello to Hakkai yet?" Goku asked.

Gojyo sighed. "Yes and no - not properly, anyway. He asked the same thing about you, though." Gojyo's voice dropped an octave, until it sounded slightly suggestive and laced with promise.

Goku looked up, eyes full of mirth. "Oh yeah? Perhaps you can thank us both later for saving your ass, huh?"

Gojyo didn't miss the way Goku shifted his body weight until his leg was resting slightly against Gojyo's thigh. Goku's tongue peeked out between his lips as he concentrated on the cuffs and Gojyo resisted the urge to adjust himself.

"Shit."

"What?" Gojyo's voice came out higher than he intended.

"I'm gonna need something extra to get this bastard off. Don't move." Goku went back to rummaging on the workbench, returning with another… _thing_… that Gojyo supposed would do the job.

Gojyo watched Goku fiddle around and let his mind wander. He still felt off and not quite right, had done ever since he downloaded that code, now that he thought about it. At first, he'd assumed it had something to do with getting knocked out but now he wasn't so sure. He felt slow, a bit lightheaded and sorta weird. 'Weird' wasn't a word that was going to cut it with Hakkai, though. He felt odd… aroused? Nah. Mentally he shook his head and reexamined the thought: his belly felt tight, but from the inside; his skin felt tingly; and, hell yes, he was half hard. _What the fuck?_ Okay; so he could attribute that to the closeness of Goku, sure, but combined with the download?

"Got it." There was a snapping sound following by the holocuffs powering off and suddenly Gojyo could move his wrists freely. Goku stepped back slightly and then threw the cuffs on the bench, along with his tools. "Better?"

"Thanks." Gojyo rubbed his wrists reflexively; they ached and felt bruised.

"You okay?" Goku stepped between his legs again and peered at him closely.

"Fine." Gojyo was starting to get pissed off with all the babying.

"Woah, your eyes are all dilated!" Goku's eyes widened considerably and before Gojyo could stop him, he'd placed a hand on Gojyo's forehead, feeling for his temperature. Then he slid his hand down Gojyo's stomach, stopping just short of his waistband. "Where's the code, Gojyo?" Goku's voice lost its playful aspect for a moment.

Gojyo looked pointedly over Goku's shoulder and at the far wall. The far, far wall of the cargo bay. Suddenly he felt a pinch on his inner thigh. "Ow, you little fuck!" he spat, pushing Goku away. "What the hell was that for?"

"Where's the damn code? It's not on a disk, is it? You downloaded it, didn't ya?"

"What?" Gojyo tried to splutter. _How the hell did the monkeyshit know that?_

Goku grabbed his hand and turned it palm up. "Don't think I didn't notice you burnt out your palm chakra! You've got a code-high," Goku said flatly.

Gojyo tried to regroup. "A code-_what_?"

"A code-high." Hakkai's voice sounded cool and slightly disapproving but it only made him sexier somehow. Although it could also be the tight green shirt and the leather pants; it was hard to decide. Hakkai leaned against the door carefully and crossed his arms. "You have all the symptoms, unfortunately. But then, you already suspected that."

Gojyo slid off the bench and gripped the edge of the metal surface. He could feel the sudden tension in the room. "Okay, whatever. So I'll sleep it off. No big deal."

"Shall I explain why you are code-high, Gojyo?" Hakkai was all serious business suddenly, his body tense under his deceptively casual pose.

"Hey, don't let me stop you," Gojyo muttered, feeling like a schoolboy about to get in trouble.

"The code you downloaded is very dangerous. Unlike most code, which, while unpleasant, can be downloaded into an unprepared body, this code is likely to kill you if you Carry it for too long. Only specific Carriers have bodies that are designed for this code; four individuals at present, five usually. That's across the entire galaxy, Gojyo – five people. You are _not_ one of them."

"That doesn't explain the code-high, Hakkai," Gojyo said wearily. Perhaps Hakkai's words were having an effect, but Gojyo was definitely starting to feel increasingly less than stellar.

Hakkai sighed. "Once the code is in your system, according to Kanzeon, who was rather specific about _not_ downloading this thing, it attempts to take over your body, doing essentially what it is designed to do: rewrite your DNA. When it realizes it can't do this, nor attach its sentient qualities to the host, it begins to break down your system. It camouflages the system breakdown with another code, one that mimics, ah." Hakkai looked mildly embarrassed for a moment, "arousal. Dilated eyes, slight increase in temperature –"

"A sort of slightly disturbing feeling in my belly?" Gojyo added.

"Exactly." Hakkai seemed to be on firmer ground now and forged ahead. "Generally, as a rule, the rejected host doesn't give a thought to anything beyond his need to be fucked, to be blunt. At that point, it's too late to do much, if anything at all."

Gojyo pushed his hair back off his face. "Shit, man. That's harsh."

"Fortunately for you, we may be able to do something about your problem when we pick up the luggage in about nine hours." Hakkai turned around and left the cargo bay without looking back, his entire body tense with disapproval. Or worry. Gojyo hoped it was the latter.

_Okay, so that was good news to a certain degree – they had something to fix the code high. Awesome news, in fact._ Gojyo grinned at Goku. "I suppose a blowjob is out of the question?"

Goku rolled his eyes. "Hmmmm, okay. But don't tell Hakkai, he's kinda mad at you right now."

_Khotan Sector: the Luggage is retrieved!_

Hakkai watched the cargo bay doors close and made his way over to the cryogenics capsule. It was covered in ice, thick enough that he couldn't be sure of the contents at present. He hoped the capsule had done its work: keeping the occupant safe and alive from the deep cold of space. Of course, he hadn't been sure until just now if they'd be rendezvousing with a ship or not; Kanzeon's short message had only mentioned the meeting coordinates before it was cut off. That message had been rerouted numerous times, for safety's sake, and was now about two days old. Hakkai had not disclosed the full details to Goku, not wishing to tempt fate further in case there had been bad news whilst Gojyo had been planetside, stealing the code.

The good news was that the 'luggage' had been equipped with a homing signal, which enabled Hakkai to track the package as it had drifted beyond the original meeting point and past the nebula. He'd deemed it advisable to collect Gojyo first, having sensed that something was off when Gojyo had not called in on schedule.

Still, everything had gone according to the parameters Hakkai had set and here he was, waiting. He watched closely as the ice began to melt off of the capsule. It was still too soon to touch the pod; to do so would have guaranteed a nasty case of frostbite.

"This the luggage?"

Hakkai glanced over his shoulder, jolted out of his musings. "Ahaha, Goku, I didn't see you there."

Goku peered at the capsule. "So, Hakkai, gonna tell me what's inside?"

"I think you'll find out shortly." Deciding it was now safe enough to touch the capsule, Hakkai wiped his sleeve across the rounded glass, brushing off the remaining frost. He didn't realize he'd been holding his breath until he let out a small sigh. The capsule was intact and had done its job, the occupant safe inside.

Goku leaned over until he was almost nose-to-nose with the viewing window. "Hey, he's pretty. Woah, is that _Sanzo_?"

"I'm afraid it is, yes."

"Ya don't seem too happy to see him, Hakkai. What gives?" Goku stood up and frowned at Hakkai.

"I'm concerned we are about to unleash a whole world of trouble on ourselves, Goku. One I've been hoping to avoid ever since we came under the employ of Kanzeon a few years ago." Hakkai flipped up the cover on the control panel and examined the console.  
Goku frowned. "He's not dangerous is he? Last time we met him he was just a bit pissy."

Hakkai couldn't prevent the smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth. Goku might have been twenty-two, but he still had a very black and white view of the universe. "Let us say I'm rather more concerned about the news he brings with him, than his general attitude. That I can deal with." He pressed a button on the console and waited for instructions. The capsule was requesting a password before it would initialize the awake sequence. Hakkai typed in _Kouryuu_.

After a few moments the panel lights went green and the capsule could be heard ticking over quietly. Dim lighting illuminated the inside of the pod, allowing Hakkai and Goku to view the occupant and the process properly.

"How long's it gonna take before Sanzo's defrosted?" Goku asked.

Hakkai shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure. Anywhere from an hour to perhaps five or six. Why?"

"Umm, Gojyo's kinda not good, ya know? He's super horny and running a massive temperature."

Hakkai raised an eyebrow. Usually this might be a cause for mirth but, at the moment it, wasn't a good sign. "How, er, _aroused_ would that be?" Hakkai swallowed hard, trying not to picture an extremely desirable Gojyo naked in bed – with Goku.

"Well," Goku began, backing away slightly. "I kinda took the edge off for him after you left the cargo bay but it's gotten worse. Like, a lot worse."

Hakkai felt warm around the collar. It must be from the heating unit in the cryogenics capsule, he decided. It might be a good idea to distance himself from the pod. "Perhaps we should visit Gojyo; I'm concerned by this code-high. I don't think the awake cycle is going to be completed any time soon, so we can probably leave it to work on its own."

"So you're not mad I kinda gave Gojyo a blow job then?" Goku leaned forward, touching Hakkai briefly, fingers caressing his bare forearm.

"I'll deal with that issue later," Hakkai said quietly. "For now we should check on Gojyo, yes?"

Goku couldn't help fidgeting. He hated it when everyone was arguing and shit. Even worse was the Sanzo Wall of Silent Disapproval. The prick had only been awake for half an hour and was already, like, smoking up a storm and glaring at everyone. Mainly, Goku guessed Sanzo was pissed off because the stuff he'd placed in the pod with him when he'd escaped from wherever had not survived the journey. So now he was smoking Gojyo's cigarettes and bitching about it and on top of that, being pissy about Gojyo for collecting the missing code. Or so Hakkai had said. Whatever. Nobody told him anything anyway.

"Could we please get back to the point, Sanzo?" Hakkai was leaning against the door of the main living area. At least he'd stopped pacing, which had been distracting.

"Which is?"

Hakkai frowned. Goku could tell he was frowning, 'cause his eyes sorta tightened up at the corners when he smiled. Sanzo had no idea how close he was to getting a verbal lashing from Hakkai. This was gonna be all kinds of awesome.

"The point being, Gojyo was sent on a mission by Kanzeon, which went badly. He was forced to download code, which has resulted in a code-high. Kanzeon was not forthcoming with much information –"

"Kanzeon is dead, along with every living thing on Keiun." Sanzo butted out his cigarette and sat down. "It was blown to shit by those fucking Uchuujin bastards. I barely escaped with my life. Do you see me bitching about it?"

Woah. Sanzo was pushing all kinds of buttons now, without even trying. Still, Goku kinda felt sorry for him. It can't have been an easy trip with the Uchuujin on his tail.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Sanzo. However, we must save Gojyo."

Sanzo grimaced and held up his hand, cutting Hakkai off. "How the fuck did he end up with a code-high?"

"As I said, Kanzeon did not explain properly that what, in fact, Gojyo was attempting to retrieve was part of the Tenchi Kaigen code." Hakkai was looking almost smug. "Only by piecing her comments together, and observing the unusually strong symptoms of the code-high, can I assume this is what we are dealing with."

Sanzo opened his mouth to say something and then shut it again. He kinda looked like fish out of water. He seemed to be thinking rapidly, though, and Goku could tell Hakkai was not fooled by Sanzo's act of apparent cool. If Goku was gonna be honest, Sanzo looked kinda out of his depth.

"There shouldn't be any extra Tenchi Kaigen code," Sanzo blurted.

"Oh?"

"Can we fix Gojyo first and talk about this later?" Goku yelled. He stood up, hands curling into fists at his sides. "Gojyo's more important than some stupid computer program, okay?" Silence filled the room as both Hakkai and Sanzo stared at Goku. Goku kinda felt uncomfortable with the way Sanzo was looking at him but it was more of an appraising look rather than an 'I'm gonna shoot you in the head' look.

"Fine." Sanzo strode to the door. "Where is the idiot?"

Goku pointed down the hallway. "In the medbay to your left." Goku followed Sanzo, not daring to look at Hakkai. He didn't wanna see the look of worry on Hakkai's face. Hakkai had done what he could, using up his healing chi to try to keep Gojyo stable but the code was eating Gojyo up from the inside.

Gojyo was lying as they'd left him when Sanzo had woken from cyro sleep. He looked clammy and sick, his long red hair plastered to his body and face, deathly pale. Fine tremors wracked his body but he seemed too weak to do anything about them. The blanket was pushed down around his hips and Gojyo appeared to be burning up with fever, his eyelids moving rapidly as if he was in the middle of a nightmare. Goku knew Gojyo had nightmares; they all did from time to time. But he'd never seen Gojyo like this, a feverish shell of himself, and all within the space of a couple of hours or so.

Sanzo seemed to think it was bad, too. He sort of paused in the doorway and then crossed the room fast, quicker than Goku'd ever seen him move. "Are you _sure_ he downloaded part of the Tenchi Kaigen code?" Sanzo turned to Hakkai, an intent look on his face.

"Reasonably sure, yes," Hakkai replied. "Why?"

Sanzo took a deep breath, his eyes closing slightly before he stared Hakkai down. "If it's not the Tenchi Kaigen code, it may kill me if I download it."

"Is there something you need to share with us, Sanzo?"

"Later, Hakkai. Right now I'm going to trust your judgment and see if I can download the code." Sanzo sounded kinda tired and a little more human. It was about time. Kinda sucked Gojyo might almost die for them to get to see it happen, Goku thought uncharitably.

Hakkai crossed to the bed and placed a hand gently on Gojyo's forehead. Gojyo stirred slightly, muttering under his breath, but didn't wake up. "Please be careful, Sanzo."

Sanzo grunted and moved over to stand next to Gojyo's bed. "You'd better be right," he warned.

Hakkai smoothly ignored Sanzo's posturing. "Do you need to jack into the console?"

"No." Sanzo pulled Gojyo's arm from under the low-slung sheet and frowned at his burnt palm chakra. "I need a cable though. I'll connect us and jack in through the ports at the base of our necks. I need to create a closed circuit with no outside interference."

"I got it." Goku got up and pulled out a drawer. He needed to do something, otherwise he was gonna explode. This was taking far too long. He passed the cable to Sanzo and set about jacking Gojyo in, pressing the cable until he felt the familiar click as the port locked. Sanzo did the same with the other end.

"You two need to stand back," Sanzo said gruffly. "No interference, I mean it. No matter what happens, do not disconnect either of us. Got it?"

"Absolutely," Hakkai said, stepping back. "Let's hope, for all our sakes, you know what you are doing."

Sanzo ignored Hakkai's parting shot and reached over Gojyo, lining his palm chakra up with Gojyo's. He folded his fingers between Gojyo's, almost as if they were lovers holding hands. Goku thought that if Gojyo hadn't been so sick, it would have been kind of cute.

Goku moved to stand next to Hakkai and took his hand in his, echoing the scene in front of them. He felt Hakkai squeeze his fingers in silent reassurance. Sanzo closed his eyes and began to mutter something under his breath in a weird language. His hair seemed to move with an invisible breeze and he began to glow with a strange inner light.

Goku's mouth fell open at the sight. Sanzo was always kinda pretty but now he looked almost radiant, otherworldly. Hakkai disengaged his hand from Goku's and began to form a healing chi ball, getting ready to step in when needed. Goku watched Sanzo's hand where his palm was connected with Gojyo's; Goku was sure he could see what looked like faint letters or characters moving under Gojyo's skin, crossing over to Sanzo before disappearing. Sanzo's chanting grew louder and Gojyo stirred restlessly on the bed. For a split-second Goku was worried he'd have to hold Gojyo down to stop him from jerking out the cable.

Sanzo's chant grew louder, the words slipping past Goku's hearing like he was physically unable to remember the words, like they didn't exist. His brain clawed to hold onto them but they refused to be held. Gojyo's body shuddered and he arched upward, only his hips and shoulders still on the bed. Just as quickly, he slumped back down, his body exhausted.

Sanzo removed his grip on Gojyo's hand and disengaged the cable from his neck, quickly stepping back so Hakkai could fill Gojyo with healing chi. Goku watched, not daring to move or to interrupt Hakkai. Instead he watched as Sanzo staggered over to one of the beds and leaned against it, panting hard.

Goku touched Sanzo's arm, only to have Sanzo slap his hand away and shake his head. Goku complied, mainly to keep the peace. But he noticed that Sanzo looked flushed, almost code-high himself, his cheeks flushed, pupils dilated. _Interesting_. He watched Sanzo stagger from the medbay and disappear down the corridor, probably to his sleeping quarters.

Goku stayed behind, waiting for Hakkai to let him know that Gojyo was gonna be fine. Then they could be a team again, just like before.  



	2. The God in the Machine Part II

  
Sanzo stared at the ceiling, wondering how long he'd been asleep. It must have been a while, which was unusual for him, since he was used to the schedule of the temple monks on Keiun. The temple had originally been constructed back in Koumyou's day, as a cover for the research facility beneath the moon's surface but like all good camouflage, the cover had become real and the reason behind it had faded into the background. Now it was all part of the past, with Keiun blown to smithereens.

He reached over and keyed the overhead lights; they came on, infused in a soft gold color, imitating early morning sunlight. Must still be early then, Sanzo decided. If it was still night by the ship's clock, the lights would have been soft purple or some such thing. Typical of Hakkai to procure a ship from Gojun, the Dragon King of the Western Sea – a simple fucking clock would have done the trick just as well as ambient lighting but, apparently, dragons didn't think that way.

Sanzo sat up and glared at the floor, elbows resting on his knees, while he fought for true wakefulness. If he was being honest with himself, he wasn't feeling physically worn out; it was more like he was trying to avoid thinking about certain things. Like a sore tooth, he found himself poking at the source of his annoyance rather than ignoring it.

Right at the very pinnacle of the list was his reaction to downloading the code from Gojyo. Hakkai had been correct; it was indeed part of the Tenchi Kaigen code. That wasn't the bothersome part; his body had been modified to accept the code, he was now one of very few individuals who were Carriers for it. The code couldn't affect him, at least not until he called on it and used it. When he'd jacked in and created the circuit with Gojyo, it had been similar to the download on Keiun: slightly itchy in feeling, like things were rewriting themselves inside his body, fucking with his DNA. That part was real, the code changed things. It was what had happened right at the end, just after the code had finished downloading, that he'd found disturbing: Gojyo had arched right off the bed, his orgasmic expression forever imprinted in Sanzo's mind. It wasn't just the way the idiot had looked; it was as if, when the download finished, the code had done something else to Sanzo, suffused his body with borrowed pleasure or something ridiculous. He'd never disconnected so fast in his life. He'd been terrified and he just _knew_ the fucking monkeyshit had picked up on it.

He'd had sex a couple of times just to experience it and that hadn't even come close to what he'd felt during that download. He'd almost come in his pants, right there, in front of the last three people in the galaxy he'd choose to see that happen. At least one of them had been actually unconscious but Sanzo's brain was still reeling with embarrassment over the incident. He'd bet the Hakuryuu that Goku had blabbed it all out to the rest of the ikkou last night, and that they were still talking about it this morning.

The one thing in his favor was that they all had questions and Sanzo's reaction was probably low on the list of immediate things that needed to be discussed. It would be like facing the inquisition; Hakkai took his role as arbitrary leader seriously. The ikkou were a close knit team: another thing that pissed Sanzo off. Not only were they friends, the three of them were lovers and Sanzo simply couldn't fathom how the hell they made that work without killing each other due to jealousy. Each one was also Uchuujin in some form or another, their blood either watered down or bound in some way, but Sanzo particularly wanted to know why they were loyal to Kanzeon. There was nothing in it for the ikkou, not that he could see, anyway. They'd had a long term loyalty to Koumyou and Kanzeon, enough loyalty to become sleeper agents, biding their time and waiting, using the smuggling as a cover. The ikkou had been playing the role for so long they were more smugglers than covert operatives, and the one person who knew the reason for the ruse, Kanzeon, was now gone.

Sanzo grimaced and stood up, stretching his tired muscles. It was time for a shower and then some serious discussion.

Gojyo poured himself a cup of coffee and set the pot back on the burner so it would stay warm for the others. Well, other, singular – Hakkai drank tea and Goku wasn't allowed to drink coffee, per Hakkai's orders, 'cause it would make him hyper, which left Sanzo to drink the remainder. Sometimes Gojyo was pretty sure Hakkai forgot that the monkey was now an adult and could do whatever the hell he liked.

Glancing around, Gojyo pulled out a smoke and lit up, knowing full well that Sanzo's presence meant he'd have more leeway to smoke as much as he felt like. He'd just have to make sure he used an ashtray. The last time he'd flicked ash on the floor of the cockpit, Hakuryuu had started the safety ejection device under his seat. Anybody who argued that Hakuryuu couldn't possibly be a bio-engineered, partly-sentient construct had no fucking idea what they were talking about. He nudged the ashtray closer just to be on the safe side.

Goku wandered in, somehow managing a stretch at the same time as walking. The sudden exposure of tanned skin and lean stomach muscle caused Gojyo's mouth to go dry. He'd have to remember he owed Goku one for taking the edge off yesterday…

Goku plonked down on the seat next to Gojyo and stole a sip of his coffee. Fortunately, Gojyo was still feeling the rosy glow of a condemned person with a reprieve from death, and that currently extended to all of his teammates, so he didn't complain. "Hakkai'll kick your ass if he sees you drinking my coffee," Gojyo muttered.

"I thought I heard my name," said Hakkai from the doorway. He came over to Gojyo and placed a hand on Gojyo's forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Not bad," he admitted. "Enjoying the fact I'm not being eaten from the inside out by rogue, fucking code. Not to mention kinda frisky since you don't have a shirt on," he added with a smirk.

Hakkai blushed and muttered an 'oh,' before slipping his shirt over his head. Not that the tight, black top did much to hide anything but it was still a shame. "I was more concerned about you than my shirt, I suppose," Hakkai said with a smile. This was a real smile too; it made Gojyo feel sort of breathless.

"But seriously, thanks for saving my ass yesterday and all. I owe you both big time." Gojyo butted out his smoke and threw back the rest of the coffee. Perhaps he could get another cup in before Sanzo showed up.

Goku leaned forward over the table, until he was almost nose to nose with Hakkai and Gojyo. "Oi, did you guys see Sanzo's reaction yesterday when he downloaded Gojyo's code? He looked kinda –"

"Ahahaha, good morning Sanzo!" Hakkai's back went ramrod straight in his chair and he even waved at Sanzo. "Would you like a cup of coffee?"

Sanzo scowled from the coffee machine. "I can get it myself."

"Did you sleep all right?" Hakkai's penchant for bulldozing through awkward situations had fully manifested itself.

"Fine." Sanzo poured a cup of coffee and sipped carefully. It must have been satisfactory, because he took another sip before sitting across from everyone else at the table. "What?" he said, after a moment.

"Hey man, just concerned for our guest and all," Gojyo drawled. "Don't let us interrupt your early morning sulk, though."

"Fuck you."

"Can we not fight?" Surprisingly, it was Goku who spoke. The pained expression on his face showed he clearly wasn't in the mood for verbal sparring.

"Sure thing," Gojyo said, trying to sound reassuring. It was pretty much guaranteed that even if the conversation started out pleasantly, it would shortly devolve into shouting. Gojyo had tried to remember as little as possible about the three weeks Sanzo had been part of their team a few years back. It still gave him a headache. He hated to see the ikkou out of sorts and in disarray, 'cause they were his family and he was gonna punch out anyone who interfered with the team dynamic.

Hakkai crossed his arms and leaned on the table. "There are rather a few questions we need to have answered, Sanzo."

Sanzo grimaced. "Ask what you want. I may not answer. I don't report to you bastards."

"Perhaps not. But if what you say is true and the Temple Moon of Keiun was destroyed by Uchuujin, things are rather serious, don't you agree?"

_Score one for Hakkai_, thought Gojyo proudly.

"More serious than you know," Sanzo muttered, surprising Gojyo once more. Sanzo glared at each one of them in turn. It took Gojyo a few seconds to realize that Sanzo wasn't glaring, as such; it was more just a disagreeable expression, probably brought on by the bad news he was about to deliver. They were so screwed.

"Kanzeon mentioned in her first communication that we needed to appropriate a code that had been stolen from your laboratory," Hakkai began. "This is what we sent Gojyo to retrieve. Apart from Kanzeon's instructions not to download the code directly," Hakkai looked at Gojyo, who grinned sheepishly. "There was little other information forthcoming. Perhaps you can enlighten us, Sanzo?"

Sanzo sighed. His fingers twitched and Gojyo finally took pity on the bastard and threw his smokes over to him. Sanzo pulled one out, grimaced at the packaging and lit one anyway. He inhaled deeply, his eyes closing and the lines of tension leaving his face. Gojyo could suddenly see the real Sanzo underneath. He wasn't bad looking when he wasn't yelling or looking frustrated or bored, which was a bit of a surprise. Sanzo projected a clear _fuck off and die_ persona and he was good enough at it that people tended to not look any more deeply.

"This goes no further," Sanzo said, gesturing with his cigarette. Hakkai let that one slide and, instead, pushed the ashtray pointedly in Sanzo's direction.

"Years ago, Koumyou developed the Tenchi Kaigen code. The code was directly based on a set of old Buddhist scrolls, said to have been brought into existence, by some god or other, at the dawn of time. These scrolls were apparently used in the creation of the universe. They were given into the care of a set of monks for safekeeping and then divided up, because to use the scrolls together would have unimaginably dire consequences."

"And you believe this shit?" Gojyo said.

"Yes." Sanzo raised an eyebrow, his gaze sliding over Gojyo to fix on Hakkai and Goku instead. He cleared his throat and continued. "Koumyou developed the code in five pieces, mimicking the original scroll's format. When tested, the code worked _too_ well and even had a few surprises of its own. It doesn't restrict itself to the original programming code either, becoming unstable at times. The code appears to be partly sentient."

"Woah," Goku offered, his eyes wide at the implications. He looked rather impressed. "Can I look at it?"

"Fuck no," Sanzo barked. "Nobody else is going to fuck with the code, am I clear?"

Hakkai frowned. "Can we assume there is a third party involved then, apart from the Uchuujin? How exactly did they get hold of part of the code - surely you had security in place, Sanzo?"

Sanzo took a long time butting out his smoke, obviously buying himself time, or trying to organize his thoughts. "The laboratory was broken into about a decade ago by Koumyou's long term associate, Nii. He managed to steal one part of the Tenchi Kaigen code before the alarm was raised. Koumyou was killed by Nii's hired thugs during the raid, or so I was told. I wouldn't put it past the bastard to have killed Koumyou himself."

"So this is the piece of code I downloaded?" Gojyo asked.

Sanzo stared at the wall, as if lost in the past. "No," he replied quietly.

"No? Then what the fuck –"

"Gojyo, please. Let Sanzo finish his story."

"The remaining code was divided among four Carriers and dispersed, mainly for our own protection. Like I said, it's partly sentient and to bring it all together could be calamitous. Over the years various accidents have befallen those carriers, resulting in the return of three pieces of code to Keiun. The forth piece was unaccounted for until a week ago. That was the piece Gojyo downloaded, which is now in my possession."

"So you are now Carrying four pieces of code?" Goku asked.

"Yes. During the attack by the Uchuujin battleship we had no choice but to download the remainder into me; otherwise the code would have been lost permanently."

"And the fifth piece that Nii stole – where is that?" Hakkai asked.

Sanzo bit his lip apprehensively. _This is so not good_, Gojyo thought.

"We think that Nii used the final part of the code to create a virus and, from there, the Minus Wave. We pinpointed the origin of the Minus Wave to the Houtou Sector, Nii's last known bolt-hole. The corrupted code is what's fueling the Minus Wave and making all the Uchuujin crazy."

"But… But you can't just create rogue code at the drop of a hat!" Goku spluttered. "How the hell did Nii manage to corrupt it that badly?"

"Do I look like a fucking scientist?" Sanzo snapped. "Nii is brilliant, which is why Koumyou hired him. Forget brilliant; the man's basically a fucking genius in his field."

"So what now?" Gojyo asked. He was feeling twitchy; why the fuck wouldn't Sanzo look at him?

"I need to get to the Houtou sector. Once there, I have to upload the Tenchi Kaigen, which should neutralize Nii's corrupted Minus Wave code."

"_Should_ neutralize it?" Goku questioned, totally serious for once. "Ya mean you really don't have a clue?"

"I'm going on Koumyou's research, Goku. I have to trust him; if I don't, what do I have? I have to try _something_."

It was as near a plea as the ikkou was going to get from Sanzo. "You'd better get me the coordinates for Houtou so I can plot a course," Gojyo said.

Sanzo looked directly at Gojyo for the first time that morning. His gaze moved to Goku and then to Hakkai and, when neither said anything, Sanzo let out a deep sigh of relief. "It's beyond the Far Edge," he added.

"Do you know how long it will take us to reach the Edge, Sanzo?" Hakkai said, tensing up. "Unlike the Uchuujin battleships, Hakuryuu can't fold space. Travel will not be instantaneous."

"How long?" Sanzo gritted out.

"Ahaha. Well, we have a sublight drive, which is fast, but we have to make course changes based on local phenomenon…"

"We can use some of those big-ass dwarf stars as gravity wells to get a slingshot motion going," Gojyo mused. "Just gotta program Hakuryuu right and we're good to go."

"How long?" Sanzo repeated.

Hakkai fixed Sanzo with a stunning smile. "About four months, give or take a few days."

"Fuck." Sanzo dropped his head into his hands. "Four months with you idiots. The end cannot come fast enough."

"Oi, steady," Gojyo warned, standing up and leaning over the table, pointing a finger at Sanzo. "In case you missed the point, we're doing this as a favor for Kanzeon, not because we fucking want to help _you_. You're gonna be breathing our air, eating our fucking food, taking up our space on _our_ fucking ship. So how about shutting the fuck up and making yourself useful? Maybe you could even talk to the monkey here, and go over the code with him? He knows more about code that he lets on."

"Or you could sulk in your room for the entire trip," suggested Hakkai. "It's your choice either way, Sanzo. We won't stop you. I do, however, suggest you go with Goku and get fitted for a locator. You are part of the crew now, however unwillingly and it would be advisable to have a way to find you if you wander off. After all, we all wear one."

Gojyo wanted to laugh. Sanzo was in for it now, having got on Hakkai's bad side. The next few months could be interesting.

"Sure, I'll take Sanzo and get him fitted," Goku said, standing up. A large grin was threatening to break out on Goku's face. "I'll catch you guys later."

"I guess we need to program Hakuryuu and get moving," Gojyo said, once Sanzo had departed with Goku. "You wanna just head for the Edge and do course corrections when we get close?"

"Yes. Perhaps that would be advisable. Perhaps by then Sanzo will have warmed up slightly."

"Once he gets over the shock of Goku holding him down and sticking a needle through his navel, you mean?" This time Gojyo did laugh. He was half listening for the indignant squawk Sanzo was no doubt going to make when he found out just what the fitting entailed.

"I suppose he could wear the locator as an earring, but Kougaiji's Uchuujin factor will be looking for us and they'll recognize the dragon symbol. Better to have it hidden." Hakkai leaned over and kissed Gojyo on the lips. "I'm glad you are well, Gojyo. Please do not do anything that stupid again in the future. Goku and I do not wish to lose you."

"I promise." Gojyo returned the kiss. Reluctantly he pulled away. "Better go do some work so we can play later, eh?" he said with a wink.

_Sanctuary Space Port, Jade Sector: The luggage takes a detour_

Sanzo had been biding his time carefully, waiting for the perfect opportunity to jump ship. Not permanently, although god knew he was getting cabin crazy after four months onboard the Hakuryuu, without a break from the three idiots. Hakuryuu was large enough that he could avoid the ikkou if he wanted to, but he was having problems finding his peace of mind. Meditation was Sanzo's way of dealing with the code, using the skills Koumyou had taught him, and it should have been enough to keep the code pacified. The problem was that he was Carrying so much code, much more than one person had ever been intended to, and it was hard work keeping it under control.

His body was starting to react. Thanks to fucking Gojyo and whatever had happened with the download, he was constantly on the edge of… something. He knew the signs: flushed skin, slight temperature elevation, an insidious and constant curl of pleasure in his gut – fuck, he'd given up counting how many times he'd had to jerk off.

There was a small seed of doubt in his mind as to whether or not it really was Gojyo's fault; a tiny voice at the back of his mind, which sounded an awful lot like Koumyou, told him it was a specific line of programming at work: a type of _reward_ for Carrying the code - that little curl of gut-tightening pleasure that, unfortunately, was becoming uncontrollable due to playing host to four of the five Tenchi Kaigen codes.

Sanzo hated being out of control, or feeling like he was out of his depth. He wanted this mission over and done with. Now. On top of the fucking "reward" system he was currently dealing with, was also the nagging question of how to activate the code once the time came.

Sanzo slipped down the cargo bay ramp and quickly crossed the docking bay, keeping to the shadows, in order to avoid being seen. Nobody was paying attention, this was a shit for nothing hole of a port, close to the Far Edge. It attracted a vast number of seedy individuals: smugglers, pirates, escaped prisoners, gamblers, and the odd, down-on-his-luck merchant.

Sanzo did a final check on his pistol, making sure it was strapped into the holster properly and the tie snug around his thigh. He'd planned carefully for this trip, borrowing one of Hakkai's tighter pairs of leather pants and a shirt. Sanzo tended to rotate between a couple of old pairs of worn jeans the ikkou had donated while he was onboard ship, but wearing something like that off-ship would just attract attention. The ikkou fit in perfectly out here, being smugglers themselves.

The compact sand under his feet muffled the sound of his movements, allowing him to slip out the side gate of the docking bay and leave the Hakuryuu behind. He spared a glance backward; Hakuryuu really was a fine ship to behold: sleek lines and elegant wings, which folded when they needed to be out of the way. The white of its hull was muted under the soft moonlight, reflecting the occasional dull, orange, sand color of the buildings surrounding the docking bay. The light was on in the cockpit and Sanzo could make out Hakkai and Gojyo, leaning with their heads close together, no doubt going over some minor course change that Sanzo had no interest in.

Perhaps he should be concerned with that type of thing: to try to become part of the team, to change his own programming and his need for privacy. Sanzo knew the craving for solitude was his own self defense mechanism kicking in, shoving everyone away at arm's reach, so he didn't have to get involved. Even after three months of travel, he still couldn't understand how the ikkou functioned and worked together. He'd be gone soon anyway, once SUTRA had done its work. He didn't need them, he reminded himself, ignoring the tightening in his gut and the borrowed pleasure. _I don't need them._

Sanzo pulled the hood of his robe up over his head and slipped into the winding alleyways of Sanctuary.

"Has anyone seen Sanzo lately?" Hakkai paused in the doorway to the main living space. "He's not in his room and I can't locate him."

Gojyo looked up from his magazine, surprise on his face. Goku had been napping, leaning on Gojyo's shoulder and he grumbled as Gojyo shifted on the couch. "Na, maybe the prick is taking another shower break? He takes more showers than I eat dinners."

"Something's buggin' him," Goku said sleepily. "I sometimes watch him when he doesn't know I'm looking, and…" Goku let the sentence hang, suddenly realizing what he'd just said. "Whatever," he added, with a hint of mulish bravado.

Hakkai felt his eyebrows rise at that interestingly-worded statement. Sanzo was very attractive and he could see why Goku might be fascinated by that. Hakkai himself might have been interested, but Sanzo's attitude managed to negate any serious designs on Hakkai's part. He knew Gojyo felt the same way, having had a conversation about it with him a few weeks back.

"So, no one has actually seen Sanzo since we docked," Hakkai confirmed.

"Nope. He's been distracted like woah, for the past few days though," Gojyo added, putting the magazine to one side and slipping an arm around Goku. "What else is bugging you, Hakkai? You look pretty serious."

"It's just that my favorite pair of leather pants and a top are missing, along with a pistol from the weapons locker." Hakkai had a hard time keeping the disapproval out of his voice.

Gojyo released his arm from around Goku and stood up. "That fucker has gone into Sanctuary, right? Bastard," Gojyo hissed. "Now we gotta go and rescue his stupid ass."

"I'll meet you guys outside in five," Goku said with a yawn. "I'm gonna program us a tracking device, so we can find Sanzo by his locator."

"Thank you, Goku," Hakkai said.

"You okay man?" Gojyo shoved his hands in his pockets and watched Hakkai warily.

"No, actually, I'm not. Not only do we have a rogue Carrier on the loose with four Tenchi Kaigen codes, but also a pigheaded, stubborn idiot who has no idea exactly how attractive he'll look to the local slave traders and, finally, he's wearing my favorite pants. I shall be most displeased if Sanzo returns them damaged in any way, shape or form."

"I can lend you a pair of mine?"

"That's really not the point, Gojyo, is it?"

"I _think_ I found him."

Gojyo tossed his cigarette butt onto the ground and watched Goku fiddle with the tracking device. The monkey was frowning, which was never a good sign. "You don't sound sure, Goku," Gojyo said eventually.

"There's a lot of interference. Could be just static, or the usual generalized jamming signals put out by professional smugglers."

"Or?"

Goku shrugged. "Or Sanzo is surrounded by a shit-load of Uchuujin in an alley four blocks to the south. Their super-shiny spandex clothing tends to interfere with my scans," Goku added.

Gojyo uttered a short bark of laughter, totally devoid of mirth. "Just fucking excellent. Don't plan on getting your pants back, Hakkai."

Perhaps this had been a mistake. _Perhaps_, Sanzo thought, _I should have just played nicely with the ikkou and not just taken off. I may have been out of my depth, but then I wouldn't be backed against a wall by an Uchuujin prince and his personal guard_.

"You will hand over the Tenchi Kaigen code, Genjyo Sanzo," Kougaiji said with a frown.

Sanzo sneered. "Fuck you. You know I can't do that. It has to be… extracted." _Fuck, don't think about what a forced code extraction would actually feel like or do to my body. I need to buy some time and hope the fucking locator thing is working. _Sanzo was still smarting over the fact he was now wearing a fucking navel piercing, but he also had to agree that, in this situation, the locator was a good thing.

"That will not be a problem. We will provide you with hospitality while we download the code." Kougaiji gestured to two guards on either side of him, who stepped forward, grins spread across their faces.

Sanzo stood his ground and pulled out his pistol, aiming at Kougaiji's head. "Go to hell."

The two guards paused, clearly confused by the little human's sudden outburst. The rest of Kougaiji's guard seemed less confused and also pulled out their weapons, aiming them at Sanzo.

"A slightly _damaged_ Carrier is just as good as a live one, Genjyo Sanzo," Kougaiji remarked. "Do not push your luck."

There was a slight scuffing noise off to Sanzo's left but he couldn't risk taking his eyes off of his opponents in order to see what was causing it. His stomach clenched slightly and he could feel the cool metal of the tiny locator against his navel as it moved. The moonlight was suddenly blocked and then something dropped down next to Sanzo, slipping behind him, an arm coming around his waist and tightening, pulling him back against a hard body - all in a split second; they'd moved so fast he hadn't even had time to react properly. _Fuck_.

"I'm afraid this is my property," said a soft and sibilant voice right by Sanzo's ear.

"Hakkai?" Sanzo croaked without turning his head. _What the fuck_?

"Cho Hakkai?" Kougaiji shifted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Your reputation precedes you. You're quite famous across this sector of the galaxy – along with the body count, of course."

"Let me go," Sanzo hissed. Hakkai's arm tightened in response but Hakkai didn't reply.

Two more thumps on the soft sand heralded the arrival of the rest of the ikkou, who fanned out to each side. Sanzo was pleased to note that both Gojyo and Goku looked like they were spoiling for a fight.

"Well, if it isn't Tin Foil and his crew," said Gojyo sarcastically. "I wondered when we'd meet again. I take it this must be your elite guard, judging by the huge shoulder pads and acres of silver fabric."

Kougaiji smirked. "Ah, I knew I should have pressed you for your name when we last met. Why am I not surprised to learn that you are a part of the ikkou? I suppose this means you survived the code-high, which tells me that you passed that piece of code onto someone else." He glanced back at Sanzo, a calculating look on his face. "This meeting has been most fortuitous, as it now means we don't have to search half the sector for any remaining code."

"Unfortunately, we must be leaving – with our property," Hakkai said.

Sanzo shifted slightly, ready to fire a shot. It was only a matter of seconds before things devolved into an out-and-out brawl. His finger hesitated on the trigger, waiting. He felt a thrill of tight fear in the base of his stomach and Sanzo suddenly wasn't sure if it was because of the situation, or the proximity of his team mate standing behind him. Hakkai's voice was _wrong_; this was still Hakkai, but slightly_ off_. The realization hit something primal in his gut, setting off a mixture of alarm and excitement.

Hakkai's other hand reached up and caressed the back of Sanzo's neck, pushing his hair to one side. Sanzo found himself leaning toward the touch like some kind of horny, fucking, teenage idiot and he forced himself to stop moving. A low chuckle against his ear informed him that Hakkai knew exactly what he was thinking.

"I'm not your fucking property, asshole," Sanzo ground out.

"Oh, it might be in your interest to play along, Sanzo," Hakkai mouthed against his ear. "Uchuujin take the whole notion of personal property _very_ seriously." Hakkai shifted his hips and Sanzo realized Hakkai was hard.

"Enough talking," Kougaiji ground out. "I'm afraid we have no choice but to become your opponents in this matter."

The next few moments passed in a blur for Sanzo. One moment Hakkai was a solid presence behind him: the next, the man was gone, straight into the crowd surrounding Kougaiji. With primal cries, both Goku and Gojyo joined in, wielding strange weapons that seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

There was a lot of blood and rending of limbs and other things Sanzo would be quite happy to never have to see again, if possible. Still, Sanzo continued to fire at will, trying not to hit his teammates. He may have accidentally shot past Gojyo's head a couple of times, but who was keeping tabs?

After a while things grew quiet, especially when it became apparent that Kougaiji had bowed out of the fight with an excuse and turned tail and fled. The sand was soaked with Uchuujin blood and Sanzo stepped back, connecting with the wall, in an effort not to get any on his clothing.

He stared at the ikkou and, for a moment, didn't recognize them. Gojyo was covered in blood, as was Goku. Hakkai had undergone the most drastic change of the three of them; he appeared totally Uchuujin, but covered, not with clan markings like Kougaiji's squad. Instead, his skin was laced with a fine pattern of vines that seemed to move over his skin, seemingly of their own will. His hair was longer and his eyes were completely alien. Sanzo tried not to focus on Hakkai's claws; he'd never been exposed to a real Uchuujin in full battle mode before. How had Hakkai kept this side of himself in check when he was standing behind Sanzo? Shouldn't he have been able to rip Sanzo limb from limb?

Hakkai grinned at Sanzo, showing a full set of pointed teeth. Sanzo refused to show fear, to acknowledge that he might just be really fucked right now.

"Nothing to worry about, Sanzo," Gojyo said, the laughter apparent in his voice. "Hakkai's got it under control. May not look like it but he's usually fairly sane, even in his true form. We just like to fight dirty, with none of that pansy-ass gun pointing you like to do. It doesn't get you very far against a squad of highly trained Uchuujin warriors. But then, I guess you noticed that."

"Fuck off." Sanzo holstered his gun and glared at Gojyo, mainly to avoid having to look at Hakkai and Goku.

"I suggest that Goku and I keep to our original forms until we return to the ship. Don't you agree? Simply as a deterrent to anybody else who decides to make off with our property. We don't want Sanzo to disappear again, hmm?" Hakkai cocked his head to the side, like he was weighing up options.

"Yeah, then I suggest Sanzo tell us what the hell he was doing out here in the first place." Gojyo lit a smoke.

"I'm not your fucking possession."

"You're safer as our property, Sanzo," Goku said. "At least until we get back on board and get the hell outta here."

Hakkai looked toward the sky. "There will, no doubt, be retaliation. I'm sure Kougaiji didn't skip in on a pleasure cruiser. We may even be facing a fully-armed Eirien battleship. Can you get us out of here, Gojyo?"

Gojyo pushed his hair out of his face and grimaced at the blood on his hands. "Should be able to, yeah. If we can clear the atmosphere okay, we can sit things out on that small moon on the far side of the planet; we've used it before."

Hakkai nodded. "Then let's go."

_En Route to Cloudstation Nishi, Houtou Sector_

Hakkai checked to ensure that the sublight was functioning properly. He was still rather concerned, as this was the first time they'd attempted to use the drive since the run-in with Kougaiji's faction near Sanctuary. As he'd predicted, Kougaiji's taichi had gone full out on trying to take them down and out of the sky – permanently. It was the first time Hakkai had seen the prince make any kind of decisive play and it was somewhat unexpected, considering Sanzo was on board. Hakkai had reckoned on a certain amount of damage but not on the Uchuujin bothering to try to annihilate them.

They'd managed a few untried, and only previously-discussed, tactical moves that had actually worked, almost limping to the cover of the moon beyond Sanctuary, before digging in and hiding in one of the craters. It had taken two days to complete repairs, and another few hours to pry the information as to the whereabouts of Nii, from a recalcitrant Sanzo.

"What's our estimated arrival time for Nishi, Gojyo?"

"Erm. Should take us about thirty hours, barring any further problems with the sublight drive. We gotta discuss with The Prick where he wants us to pop out of sublight."

"Good point," mused Hakkai. "Shall we go find our guest and see if we can get some details from him?" Hakkai stood up, letting his hand trail over Gojyo's shoulder in a caress.

Gojyo snorted. He seemed to feel that was enough of an answer to the Sanzo question. "I got an idea that'll flush the bastard out of the cover of his room, though."

Hakkai couldn't help but smile at Gojyo's grin, which covered almost his entire face. "Oh?"

"He's gotta eat at some point right?"

"Of course."

"So, once he leaves the safety of his room, we'll program Hakuryuu to lock his door, along with all the other doors except the main living area, so he can't get back in. He'll have no choice but to come to us."

"Hm, not a bad plan. Remind me not to get on your bad side, Gojyo."  



	3. The God in the Machine Part III

_Kanzeon's Little Joke_

Sanzo had tried everything. He'd run various conversations with Kanzeon through his head countless times, gone over the minutia, in an effort to learn anything that might have slipped by him at the time, he'd taken a shower, paced his bedroom endlessly and still the fucking code refused to settle down. It would quieten for a few moments and, when he'd calmed his breathing, it would send a shiver of lust through his system, as if just to remind him it was still there. Plus, he still had no idea how he was going to activate the fucking code. They had only hours before they reached Nishi, and time was running out.

Sanzo knew he'd been out-maneuvered the minute he left his room. He heard the door click shut behind him and another click told him the door was now locked. He was tempted to shoot at the door but remembered his gun was inside his room. That left him with only one other option: kill the interfering bastards with his bare hands instead.

Trial and error bought Sanzo to the inescapable conclusion that he was being funneled like prey toward the one room he wished to avoid. As he walked, the lights dimmed down to a warm blue color, signaling late evening on the ship. Hakuryuu was obviously determined to help out or, more likely, Hakkai had been meddling again, because the lights along the floor of the corridor grew slightly more golden as Sanzo approached the living area.

He stood outside for a moment, trying to decide if he should back out now but, deep down, he realized he was going need the ikkou's help – and cooperation.

The door slid open in front of him, revealing Goku, wearing a weird smile on his face. He also looked flushed. Sanzo did not want to think about what the monkey may have been doing to warrant that expression.

"Knew you'd find us, Sanzo," said Goku, stepping to one side so Sanzo could enter.

Sanzo stepped across the threshold warily, not sure what to expect. Scenes of debauchery? Weirdness? Definitely not mood lighting. Goku gave his lower back a gentle push and Sanzo walked forward slowly. Gojyo was sitting on the floor, leaning back against the couch, watching him with interest but no apparent malice. Sanzo's mouth went dry and there was that stupid flutter in his stomach again, distracting him. His body was hyper-aware of his surroundings: how close Goku was to him, the heat from his own body and the way the fabric of his sleep pants felt against his skin. He watched as Gojyo shifted and noticed how his hair moved across his shoulders: a red fall of heavy silk. He noticed the banked heat in Gojyo's eyes and, for one bizarre moment, wished it was aimed at him.

He was going to panic; he could feel it bubbling up to the surface. Then Goku moved and sat down next to Gojyo, leaning in, until the two were almost touching. The soft light made their skin look golden, almost perfect and without flaw.

"What do you bastards want?" Sanzo ground out, determined to get the upper hand straight away. After the whole 'property' issue on Sanctuary, Sanzo was wary, not only of his own strange urges and forced desires, but those of the ikkou: Hakkai especially. He'd spent a couple of days trying to figure out Hakkai's motivations (and his hard on) and had come to no conclusions whatsoever about the entire situation.

"First off, you prick, sit down," Gojyo said, with an irritated wave of his hand. "Nobody's gonna fucking shoot you or anything."

Sanzo glanced around for a spot in which to sit, recognizing he wasn't going to win this one by standing in the doorway. He sat down in the nearest chair and glared, half inclined to ignore the drink Hakkai thrust toward him.

Sanzo stared into the cup. It was scented with jasmine but that didn't explain its slight blue tinge. He knocked it back in one go, despite his earlier protest, and almost coughed it straight back up again. He briefly wondered if his human physiology was supposed to be able to cope with something that strong. After a few seconds his nerves seemed to recede; a different kind of warmth spread through this body, one that soothed his anxiety and relaxed his muscles. It was relief to experience something other than the constant gut-clenching tightness of desire and Sanzo closed his eyes briefly, content to enjoy the feeling for a moment.

When he opened his eyes, Hakkai was settled on the other chair, watching him closely. Sanzo refused to react to Hakkai's intimidating stare. He was fully aware that, right now, he was only a guest and only here because Hakkai was doing Kanzeon a favor. He supposed he should be glad that, despite Kanzeon's death, Hakkai was still willing to play along.

"Sanzo, we need to know where you want us to exit from sublight. Is closer better, or do you wish to come in through the atmosphere in a low glide? If we agree on the latter, it's likely we'll be exposed to enemy fire."

Sanzo was surprised that Hakkai was bringing this up now. He thought he'd been brought here to deal with the consequences of his jumping ship in port and the reason behind it. He was still suspicious, as nobody had really mentioned it since they'd gotten back on board. Still, hiding from the enemy and repairing the ship had brought other priorities to the forefront, he supposed.

"How close can we get to the Cloudstation, Gojyo?" Sanzo asked, realizing his navigation skills were nonexistent and that he was going to have to rely on the ikkou if they were to stand a chance in hell of pulling this off.

Gojyo leaned back against the couch and thought for a moment. "If you can give me exact coordinates, I can bring the Hakuryuu right up underneath. If you can't, and it's only a guess, we'll have to come in fully visible."

"We could pop out of sublight close to the planet, just long enough to get a fix, and then jump back in again," Goku added. "If we time it right, we only have to enter regular space for a few seconds. We may even appear as an onscreen anomaly if anyone's watching."

"I like it," Hakkai replied. "Sanzo, does that work for you?"

"Hn."

"I'll take that as a yes, then. Is there anything else we need to know going in? Are we looking at a large, armed force or is Nishi just a glorified laboratory?"

"Both," Sanzo said. "Nii will have a lab there, which is what I'll be aiming for. But Nishi will probably have a heavy-duty armed guard. I'd bet money on it."

"Hmm." Hakkai seemed to be considering alternatives, sifting them through his head. It was fascinating to watch. "So then the three of us will provide you with backup, allowing you to infiltrate the lab and use the Tenchi Kaigen code."

Fuck, he was so not looking forward to this part of the discussion. As if reading his mind, Goku leant forward and filled up Sanzo's cup with the sake. Sanzo took another grateful sip, this time not choking. He watched Hakkai sip his drink, in fact, none of the ikkou seemed to have the same reaction to it that Sanzo had. The bastards probably drank this shit all the time.

"I won't be using the Tenchi Kaigen code, as such," Sanzo said reluctantly.

"Huh?" Gojyo looked confused and then somewhat annoyed. "I thought this was the whole reason we came all the fucking way out here. Or is there something else we need to know, asshole?"

Hakkai reached out a hand and laid it on Gojyo's thigh in a reassuring manner. "Gojyo is right."

Sanzo leaned back in the chair and look a mental deep breath. _This is going to sound so stupid_. "I haven't given you all the details regarding the code yet." He held up a hand to forestall the general shouting that was threatening to break out. "The Tenchi Kaigen code is currently in four parts, inside me. Right before we go in, I need to activate the code and make it whole. Once the code is active, it becomes something else, a little more sentient; we call this SUTRA."

"And?" There was Hakkai, raising his damn eyebrow again, like he guessed something fucking embarrassing was coming.

"Before SUTRA goes active it needs a DNA response from either one or, at best, all of you."

Hakkai cleared his throat. "A DNA response? What exactly does that entail?"

Sanzo scowled. Hakkai looked entirely too flushed for his own good. It was creepy. "One of Kanzeon's little failsafe jokes," Sanzo bit out. "Just in case someone got hold of the code and managed to assemble most of the pieces. The chances of someone doing that – providing a Carrier who can take the code and then getting hold of you guys is almost nonexistent."

Gojyo leaned forward, a shit eating grin covering his face. "So, you're telling us the only way to activate SUTRA is with good old fashioned DNA, huh?" Gojyo began to out and out laugh.

Sanzo said nothing and began to glare ferociously. He could feel his face aching with the strain and his left eyebrow began to twitch.

Gojyo's laughter died off abruptly. Hakkai had been grinning somewhat maniacally, while Goku's eyes had gone the size of saucers. But all three turned a slightly pale when Sanzo refused to answer.

"You're serious?" Hakkai said. His eyes were now almost the size of Goku's.

"Never mind," Sanzo said standing up. "I wouldn't stick my fucking dick in _that_," he pointed at Gojyo, "even if the world was ending."

"Hey, who said anything about fucking?" Gojyo said, dropping his voice down until it sounded sexy and raw. He winked at Sanzo.

"You mean we're gonna have to… _kiss_ or something?" Goku blurted.

Sanzo put his head in his hand and sighed. He had just known it was going to turn out like this: embarrassment on top of embarrassment.

"Did you have any idea Kanzeon had keyed the code to our DNA?" Hakkai looked at Gojyo and Goku and frowned. Hakkai obviously wasn't impressed that Kanzeon had managed to get one over him.

"No," Gojyo said, leaning back against the couch and dropping the sexy act. "But then, we should have suspected Kanzeon was up to something when she wanted to test our DNA the last time we were at Keiun."

Sanzo glared at the ikkou, trying to ignore the varied looks of confusion or interest on their faces. "Does it fucking matter at this point?"

Goku shifted around on the floor. "But you just said you need to activate SUTRA. There are no other options?" he asked with a blush.

Sanzo's jaw was clenching. He knew this was a bad idea, coming to these assholes and expecting them to make sense. "I've been trying to think of an alternative ever since you pulled me out of cyro sleep. Unless you guys have a fucking DNA extractor I don't see any other way. Do you think I _want_ to do this?"

"Yes, I do," said Hakkai, instantly plunging the room into silence. Hakkai cocked his head to the side and fixed Sanzo with a look that stopped his imminent retreat from the room. "I think, Sanzo, that you want this very much, which is why you've been avoiding us for so long. You don't want to admit it's something that intrigues you."

"Intrigues me?" Sanzo's voice rose a few octaves, along with its volume. "You think I lie in bed at night thinking about what you three bastards get up to when I'm not around?" He could feel his heartbeat speed up as a series of lurid pictures rushed through his mind. He felt the code stir inside him and it began sending shivers of heat down his spine, tightening his belly and making him half hard. His brain helpfully supplied further images of what the ikkou might look like in the throes of passion, skin sweat-slicked, panting half-breaths, gasps and pleas for release…

"Fuck this. It was stupid to think I might get a sensible answer out of you all," Sanzo said, stalking toward the door.

Before he could key the door open, Hakkai had moved, almost preternaturally fast, blocking his way to the exit. Sanzo often forgot Hakkai was Uchuujin and had much faster responses than a human. He felt a rush of raw desire and for a moment wasn't sure if it was the code or his own reaction to the hungry look on Hakkai's face.

"Just a kiss, Sanzo?" Hakkai's voice was rough, pitched low. He watched Hakkai lick his lips and found he couldn't look away. With effort he dragged his eyes up to meet the deep green of Hakkai's and fought not to let the tremor that slid through his body show.

Sanzo's senses tingled when he heard movement behind him and he glanced to the side, taking his attention away from Hakkai, assessing this new threat. _Who -?_

He felt a hand on his face, turning his head, and warm lips on his. Sanzo fought not to pull away or tense up. _It's just a kiss right? A means to an end; it's necessary to activate the code. _ He opened his mouth slightly, enough for Hakkai to push forward, to slide his tongue over Sanzo's. Sanzo felt his breath hitch as Hakkai deepened the kiss, sucking on his tongue gently until Sanzo was pushing forward, his hands settling on Hakkai's shoulders, gripping hard.

He was turned slightly as Hakkai broke the kiss and new hands pulled him forward gently, another mouth touched his, in a different kind of kiss. Less skilled, but with more passion, hands sliding along his neck and through his hair. Sanzo groaned, instantly tensing up when he realized he'd made the sound. _Fuck, not good etiquette to do that with someone else's lover_. His eyes flickered open, waiting for the fallout. Instead, Goku was smiling at him, a blush clearly visible on his face. Goku leaned forward and kissed him again, so that Sanzo almost missed the feel of another arm around his body, pulling him gently backward, the slide of fingertips across his bare belly making his stomach contract.

_Okay, so I'm losing my mind,_ Sanzo thought. _This shouldn't be so fucking hot_. He let himself be turned again, to find himself face to face with Gojyo. The heat in Gojyo's eyes was like a sucker punch and this time it _was_ aimed directly at Sanzo. Gojyo pulled him against his body and now Sanzo could feel Gojyo's erection, hard against his stomach. He wriggled, ill at ease with the desire which seemed to be assaulting his senses. Gojyo's kiss was entirely different again, full of want, but more about skill and pleasing Sanzo than the other way around. _And… what the hell was that?_ Sanzo's tongue chased after Gojyo's, surprised to feel... was that a ring on one side of his tongue? He felt Gojyo smile around the kiss and could tell the bastard was amused.

Sanzo pulled away, surprised to find that Gojyo let him go; he'd expected more of a fight. Panting lightly, Sanzo took a step back, his senses on overdrive. He felt a warm body behind him, arms circling his waist and he looked over his shoulder. Hakkai smiled down at Sanzo and leaned in to nuzzle his neck, hot breath ghosting over the sensitive skin under his jaw. Sanzo angled his head so Hakkai had better access and looked at Goku and Gojyo, who were watching with interest.

"Do you want more, Sanzo?" Hakkai breathed against his ear. "If not, you can leave; if you do, you need to tell us."

Sanzo was distracted by Hakkai's hands sliding over his body. He couldn't fucking _think_, let alone make a decision. Someone was kissing him again, there were hands on his body. _Think, moron_.

"More," he managed to articulate around the tongue in his mouth, trying to ignore the sweep of someone else's tongue down his neck and the hands teasing at the waistband of his pants. He reached back and fisted his hair in Hakkai's, pulling him closer, causing Hakkai to bite down gently on the skin of his shoulder. "More," he said again, relieved his voice sounded clearer and less rough with passion.

His pants were roughly undone and pushed down. He stepped clear of them, pressing his body against Hakkai's, feeling the warm leather of Hakkai's pants against his bare skin. Gojyo slid his hand down his belly, grasping Sanzo's erection. Sanzo had forgotten what that felt like, how it sent a bolt of pure lust up his spine and made his knees buckle. He could feel himself sliding, Hakkai moving with him, until he was sitting on Hakkai's lap on the floor.

Gojyo turned his attentions to Goku, kissing him, sliding his hands over Goku's body as they undressed each other, whispering something in the monkey's ear, laughing softly. Sanzo shifted, suddenly suspicious. Hakkai began to stroke his cock, distracting Sanzo for just long enough. He arched into Hakkai's touch with a surprised moan, hands scrabbling for something to hold on to.

Goku slid down to the floor, followed by Gojyo. Goku crossed the floor on his hands and knees, looking like he was stalking Sanzo, making him shift uncomfortably in Hakkai's grasp. Goku looked up at Sanzo, his eyes sparkling with lust and amusement and he reached out a hand, sliding it along Sanzo's sensitive inner thigh. His thumb stroked almost close enough to touch Sanzo's balls and Sanzo found himself holding his breath, sharp breaths threatening to burst from his throat. Goku stroked down toward his knee and then back up again, gently pushing until Sanzo spread his legs wider.

He felt exposed but at the same time it was liberating and fucking hot to watch Goku, to watch his expression falter as Gojyo came up behind him, placing kisses up Goku's spine, licking at his skin and nuzzling. He watched as Goku's eyes fluttered closed for a moment, enjoying the sensations. Goku leaned down and swiped his tongue over the head of Sanzo's cock, licking at Hakkai's fingers at the same time. Sanzo felt Hakkai jolt at the touch at the same time he did, Hakkai's fingers tightening involuntarily.

"Fuck," Sanzo breathed as Hakkai shifted his hand until he was grasping the base of Sanzo's cock, giving Goku room to slide his mouth over the tip of Sanzo's cock, sucking on the head. Sanzo's hand flew to Goku's hair without thought, perhaps looking for something to hold onto; fuck, he had no idea. Goku sucked hard once and pulled back, flicking his tongue over the sensitive slit of Sanzo's erection before sliding right down until his mouth met Hakkai's hand. Sanzo bucked upward, he couldn't help himself. He felt Hakkai shift behind him, one hand sliding between their bodies until Hakkai could get his own pants undone. Hakkai moved again and Sanzo could feel the hot, hard press of Hakkai's cock against his tailbone.

Goku continued to move on Sanzo's cock, intensifying the tingling feeling in his balls. He couldn't look away; Sanzo felt like his gaze was riveted to the view before him. Gojyo had worked his way up Goku's spine, placing wet kisses until he reached Goku's neck. He bit down and Goku bucked up into Gojyo, letting out a needy moan around Sanzo's cock as his hands curled into the carpet. Gojyo pulled Goku back gently and the sudden cool air on Sanzo's erection was electrifying. Just as quickly his cock was again surrounded by warm, wet heat and Gojyo's hair was tickling the inside of Sanzo's thighs as he moved, taking Sanzo down as far as he could, stroking his tongue along the underside of his erection in a wickedly slow and infuriating fashion.

Sanzo felt a fingertip at his entrance, slick with lube, Hakkai's fingers teasing, making Sanzo rock backward, seeking more sensation while spreading his shaking legs wider. Gojyo pulled back until just the tip of Sanzo's cock was in his mouth. Sanzo felt the finger against his ass push in at the same time Goku kissed Gojyo and then took his cock back in this mouth. _Ohfuckohfuckohfuck_. If the two bastards kept doing that he was going to come soon. Hakkai tightened his hand around Sanzo's erection when he moaned and Sanzo threw his head back, gasping for air, not wanting to come yet.

Once Sanzo had regained some semblance of control, Hakkai pushed in another finger. The slight burn took the edge off of Sanzo's need, allowing him to relax somewhat. Goku and Gojyo were now trading off, kissing each other and taking turns teasing Sanzo. Sanzo clenched around the fingers in his ass and felt himself relax slightly as his body adjusted.

Hakkai shifted, pushing Sanzo forward slightly and both Gojyo and Goku backed off suddenly. Sanzo felt a protesting moan drawn from his throat at the sudden lack of stimulation; he felt empty. Something slick and hard slid between his ass cheeks and Hakkai shifted again. "Are you ready, Sanzo?" he whispered against the back of Sanzo's neck.

Sanzo swallowed and nodded, suddenly slightly nervous. Hakkai's arm tightened around his waist, the head of his cock sliding over Sanzo's entrance. Sanzo could feel Hakkai's knuckles against his ass as he positioned himself and he leaned forward, head dropping down to give Hakkai better access. He felt a push and automatically pushed back, the head of Hakkai's erection sliding in, followed by a slow burn that, far from being unpleasant, just made him want more.

"Ngh." Sanzo bit his lip, trying to fight the instinct to pull away. Sanzo rolled his hips, earning a moan from Hakkai and settled back, until his ass was tight against Hakkai's hard body. He felt his muscles flutter around the intrusion, causing Hakkai to gasp and shift before the arm around Sanzo's waist pulled him back hard.

_Oh fuck yes._ This was what he needed. Sanzo angled his hips and moved again, enjoying the little half-noises and gasps Hakkai was making. Then Hakkai thrust forward as Sanzo moved back, making him shudder with need and causing desire to race through his body.

Sanzo hadn't realized he'd had his eyes closed until he felt a warm hand encircle his cock, followed by a mouth. His eyes flew open, his brain suddenly unable to process the feeling of not only a cock in his ass but a mouth sliding down his erection. No, two mouths. Gojyo and Goku were sharing again, kissing around his dick, sliding their tongues and mouths over him, occasionally looking up to gage his reaction.

Hakkai was fucking him smoothly now, all hard, sharp thrusts followed by long, deep ones, always changing the rhythm, until Sanzo's head began to spin. He couldn't get his breath, couldn't think and there was a tight, fizzing sensation in his gut, winding tighter and tighter.

Sanzo's hips were moving of their own accord, he had no control over his actions, other than to watch Gojyo and Goku. Gojyo slid his mouth down once more and hummed. Sanzo lost it, his body clamping down around Hakkai's cock. Gojyo pulled back until Sanzo's cock rested on his tongue and Sanzo couldn't do more than watch as he came hard, his come bursting across Gojyo's tongue. Goku was right there, tongue sliding against Gojyo's, catching some of Sanzo's come on his lips and tongue as he moved.

_Holy fuck_, Sanzo's brain was chanting over and over. Hakkai had stopped moving and it took Sanzo a few moments to realize Hakkai hadn't come, was still hard in his ass. He wiggled a bit and clenched his muscles, hearing Hakkai make a slight strangled noise of protest.

"Hmm, make you pay for that later, Sanzo." Hakkai's voice was warm with promise, incredibly sexy. Sanzo felt his dick twitch again, showing interest despite his having just come.

Hakkai pushed Sanzo forward gently, his cock sliding out. Without thinking, Sanzo moved toward Gojyo and Goku and his dick began to harden again in earnest at the sight of both of them, lying on the floor and pressed against each other, moving slowly together. The thinking part of Sanzo's brain had shut down, instinct spurring him onward and all he could think was _I want, I need this_.

Sanzo hovered on his hands and knees over Goku and leaned down to claim a kiss, a thrill surging through his body at the feel of Goku's mouth on his and then Gojyo's hands in his hair, pulling him closer. He went willingly, sliding between both hard bodies, his body shuddering at the feel of their skin against his, both from the front and behind. Goku pushed up against him, his erection sliding between Sanzo's butt cheeks while Gojyo tilted his head and licked under his jaw, teeth pressing gently against Sanzo's neck as he sucked at the skin. Sanzo's hips snapped forward and he grabbed Gojyo's hip, pulling him hard against him. Sweat-slicked skin rubbed against him and he could feel Gojyo's erection pressing against his belly, making him arch into the touch.

Hands roamed over Sanzo's chest, calloused palms gliding over his nipples as Goku nuzzled his neck. Goku's hands stroked down Sanzo's trembling sides, soothing and insistent at the same time, awakening every inch of his body to Goku's touch. Sanzo pushed back, wanting the feel of Goku's cock against his ass once more. He heard breathless panting and was surprised to find it was himself, hardly recognizing the tone of his own voice, rough and wanting.

Gojyo made a noise somewhere between a moan and a whimper and Sanzo looked over. He felt his cock twitch at the sight of Hakkai, who had slid in behind Gojyo and had a hand tangled in his hair, exposing his neck. With his other hand he pushed Gojyo's leg up and over Sanzo's so he was exposed. Sanzo slid his hand along the soft skin of Gojyo's outer thigh and over his hip, fingers questing until he encountered Hakkai's. Hakkai's lube slicked hand covered Sanzo's and guided his hand down toward Gojyo's ass, pressing forward until Sanzo's finger slid inside along with one of Hakkai's.

Gojyo's body stiffened and then trembled as he made an articulate noise of encouragement, his hand gripping Sanzo's shoulder until he could feel five separate points of almost-pain from Gojyo's blunt nails. Hakkai pulled his finger back and added another, his fingers sliding against Sanzo's. Sanzo moved his finger, just as Hakkai curled his and Gojyo's whole body jolted, his cock sliding against Sanzo's own, creating wonderful friction and making Sanzo's erection throb.

Sanzo traced his tongue over Gojyo's exposed neck, tasting the salty sweat on his skin, along with something that he recognized as Gojyo's own scent. He felt Gojyo swallow, the movement pressing his Adam's apple against Sanzo's lips. Gojyo muttered something that sounded specifically like _fuck_, making Sanzo smile with predatory interest.

Hakkai removed his fingers and Sanzo did the same, resting his hand on Gojyo's ass, stroking the smooth skin. He felt Gojyo stiffen slightly as Hakkai pressed inside. Gojyo's whole body trembled, caught between Hakkai on one side and Sanzo on the other. Sanzo wanted to feel that, to feel what it felt like to be fucked and fuck at the same time. Some small part of his mind agreed with him, decided the surrender would be a delicious and freeing thing.

Sanzo turned, looking over his shoulder at Goku. "Fuck me, Goku," he managed to say, before the sensible side of his brain took over.

Goku simply nodded and looked pleased. Holding onto Sanzo's hip he angled his body so that the head of his cock was pressed against Sanzo's hole, rather than just rubbing up against him. He pushed forward slowly, Sanzo's body still slick from Hakkai's earlier invasion. This was what he wanted, Goku's thick, hard cock pressing deeper inside him. Sanzo pushed back, swallowing a shuddering breath as Goku settled behind him, hips pressed hard up against Sanzo's ass.

_Oh god, please move,_ thought Sanzo. _Please do something_. He gasped as Goku snapped his hips forward, fingers digging into Sanzo's hip for leverage. Gojyo's hand cupped Sanzo's jaw as he parted his lips, tongue sliding into Sanzo's mouth to explore. Small, breathy noises escaped Gojyo's lips as they kissed and from the way Gojyo's body moved against his, Sanzo knew Hakkai was fucking Gojyo, slow and hard.

Sanzo reached down between their bodies and grasped Gojyo's erection. He squeezed, feeling Gojyo buck up against him. Goku was nuzzling into his neck as he set up a rhythm, his cock thrusting into Sanzo's willing and hyper-sensitive body. Sanzo moved his hand until he could grasp both his and Gojyo's cocks, feel the slide and press of skin against skin. Gojyo's erection twitched against his and he tightened his grip. He was caught between two hard bodies and it felt _good_. Sanzo's brain couldn't keep up with the sensations being dragged from his body; he moved on autopilot. The feel of Gojyo's body as Hakkai fucked him, pushing Gojyo forward, the way Goku thrust into Sanzo, making every nerve he had tingle with the building pleasure.

Someone was kissing him, hands moved over his heated skin, he was fucked and he thrust forward, his cock sliding against another. Everything began to meld together, to become one, overwhelming, single, building sensation of desire, want and need.

Hakkai's thrusts sped up as he fucked Gojyo. Warmth spilled over Sanzo's hand as Gojyo's cock jerked in his fingers. In reaction, Goku sped up his thrusts, his harsh breaths gusting over Sanzo's ear, tickling his neck. Sanzo reached back and grabbed Goku's hip, a silent plea to _please fuck me harder, yes_!

Desire tightened in his belly, warmth curling through him and down his spine. He closed his eyes, unable to process sight and touch at the same time. The tension in his body snapped and Sanzo came with a shuddering cry, his body stiffening as he orgasmed. Sanzo heard Hakkai moan and felt Gojyo shudder a final time as Hakkai came, followed almost immediately by Goku.

"Sanzo." Goku's voice sounded rough and broken, sexy as hell. He kept thrusting into Sanzo like he couldn't get enough, fucking through his own orgasm until he collapsed behind Sanzo, breathing hard, his hand flung carelessly over Sanzo's side.

Someone was nuzzling into Sanzo's neck, but it was too much trouble to open his eyes and find out who it was. Hands stroked soothingly over his skin and another finger traced down his spine.

"This is nice," Goku said quietly, suddenly leaning up on one elbow to stare down at Sanzo. He kissed Sanzo's shoulder.

"Nice, sleep…" Sanzo managed to get out. He was too comfy to move.

Goku laughed; a sexy, sated laugh. "Hmm, that was awesome, but this," he trailed his hand up Sanzo's spine again, "is kinda hot."

Sanzo shifted, enough to open one eye and stare at Goku. _Had the monkey lost it finally_? "What?"

Goku smirked. "Looks like our DNA is compatible after all," he said with a wink. "You have a really cool looking set of kanji all the way down your spine. SUTRA must be active."

The last thing Sanzo wanted to be reminded about was the fucking code at this point. He was more inclined to think that another one of those Uchuujin drinks was a good idea and perhaps a smoke, if he could get Gojyo to pony one up. "Hn," Sanzo finally offered as a compromise.

"It must match the character on your forehead." Hakkai's voice sounded slightly out of breath still but somewhat amused.

That made Sanzo raise his head finally. "What character?"

From below him, Gojyo grinned. He reached up and gently placed his finger over a point just above Sanzo's eyebrows. "This one. It reads 'Enlightenment'," he explained.

"I'm going to fucking kill Kanzeon," Sanzo bit out.

_Taking Care of Business_

"What's our ETA?" Gojyo finished tying off the last black strap around his bicep. The straps crisscrossed down his arms to his elbows and made, not only a cool fashion statement, but a handy place to store his spare knives. It was the one drawback to his shakujou, which he could only use at a distance. Having back-up weapons for close-quarter fighting was a must in their line of work.

Hakkai was checking over his pistol, making sure it would function properly. He slipped it into his thigh holster and tightened the strap. "We should clear intermediate space around the planet in about ten minutes."

"Man, I hope this doesn't go to shit," Goku said with a sigh. He was leaning against the wall, watching the others.

"You're not gonna weapon up?" Gojyo replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Na, got my nyoi bo. Don't need anything else to crack heads, do I?" Goku grinned and shifted his weight to his other hip.

_Cocky little bastard_, Gojyo thought. "Where's his Excellency?"

"Here, asshole." Sanzo walked into the weapon's locker, a scowl spread across his face. Apparently awesome sex hadn't fixed his attitude, or else Sanzo was nervous and trying not to show it.

Gojyo pointedly stared at the kanji for enlightenment on Sanzo's forehead, just to get a rise out of him.

"What?"

"Nuthin' princess, just checking it's you," Gojyo quipped. "I see Hakkai loaned you another pair of pants."

Sanzo glared down at the form-fitting leather pants, slung low on his hips. "Hn."

"Sanzo, do you want an extra weapon along with your gun?" Hakkai turned around, checking Sanzo over. Gojyo would place money on Hakkai not just checking out Sanzo's weapons array – they'd seemed to get on _very_ well last night.

"I've got SUTRA and my gun, what the fuck else would I need?"

Hakkai's smile turned brittle. "You mentioned a couple of weeks back that you used to practice with a _Nodachi_."

"And?"

"Take a fucking hint, moron," Gojyo snapped. "Hakkai's trying to be nice. Suck it up."

Hakkai shot Gojyo a grateful look. Sanzo had the grace to look down at his feet for a moment, but Gojyo couldn't tell if the bastard was trying to ignore them or just felt embarrassed.

"We, ah, had the fortune to find a Nodachi on a previous smuggling trip. I thought you might like to use it," Hakkai continued, holding out the weapon, blade balanced across both hands. "It's of Uchuujin origin, but appears to be sufficiently similar to something you've used before."

Was that a slight blush on Sanzo's face? Gojyo couldn't be exactly sure; perhaps it was the lighting. Hakkai placed the weapon in Sanzo's hands and stepped back.

Something akin to awe crossed Sanzo's face as he held the weapon. Gracefully, Sanzo pulled the blade from the saya. It made a soft _shhh_ sound as it came free. The narrow blade was almost three feet long and shone with a dull, blue tinge that seemed to catch the light as Sanzo swung the sword. Gojyo took a couple of steps back, wanting to keep a healthy distance between himself and the range of the weapon.

"Thank you," Sanzo said quietly, fixing Hakkai with an intense look. He slid the Nodachi back into the saya. "Will you help me?" he asked quietly.

Hakkai nodded and set about helping Sanzo tie the weapon to his back. The Uchuujin found it easier to wear the Nodachi this way; it made drawing the sword easier and there was less chance of tripping over the damn thing, Gojyo reasoned. Hakkai's delicate but capable fingers slid across the skin of Sanzo's back and sides, tightening the straps.

Sanzo stood almost preternaturally still as Hakkai worked away, not complaining when Hakkai pulled the strap across his chest tighter so the sword wouldn't move. Gojyo watched silently, trying not to think about what Sanzo might look like decked out in shibari and begging to be fucked. One glance at Goku's face told Gojyo that the monkey's brain was working along similar lines.

Sanzo shivered slightly as Hakkai tied the final knot along his right side. "Good?" Hakkai asked shakily.

_Make that Hakkai too_, thought Gojyo with an internal smirk.

Sanzo flexed his arms to check for movement, making the visible kanji along his spine flex. "Yeah." He picked up the sword, checking the saya and flipped it so that it was blade up before sliding the weapon through the straps. He reached back, making sure the weapon was close to hand and nodded, apparently satisfied.

Gojyo stared at Hakkai and Goku, trying to memorize their faces. They'd all said goodbye earlier, after Sanzo had left, had spent precious moments just being with each other. It was sort of a ritual now between the three of them, just in case something happened and one of them didn't return. It didn't make it any easier. Or any less weird, 'cause now Gojyo was staring at Sanzo too, memorizing his face and the way he moved, subconsciously including him in their group.

"Let's go," Hakkai said, his voice tight and serious, breaking the spell.

_Arrival at Cloudstation Nishi, Houtou Sector_

They broke sublight exactly where Hakkai hoped they would: far enough out to avoid any stray Uchuujin battlecruisers, but close enough to still get a good look. Hakkai wasn't sure what he'd expected to see. Perhaps, based on the description of a 'Cloudstation,' he'd expected a nice, sunny view, something silver and elegant, hanging in the lower atmosphere, gliding through a thin layer of clouds. This… This was _not_ expected.

"Woah," offered Goku, sounding rather surprised.

"What the fuck is that monstrosity?" Gojyo summed up everyone's feelings rather nicely.

Cloudstation Nishi was floating, yes, but it also seemed to hulk over the atmosphere of the unnamed planet below. It was grotesque in its conception, barely resembling the palace it no doubt had once been. Tall, rusted spires of metal protruded from the tiled roofs. The walls, perhaps once white, were now dirty and stained and Hakkai wasn't going to speculate as to what had probably caused the staining. Judging by some of the trophies hanging from the spires… well, that was best left to the imagination. Fine ash filled the lower atmosphere, giving the dawn an unhealthy, poisonous glow. The planet below looked scorched of life, the ground barren and rocky.

After taking a second to get their bearings, they silently slipped back into sublight. Gojyo set a new course, quickly, based on the data and set the Hakuryuu for automatic docking at Nishi. Nobody particularly felt like discussing what they'd just seen.

After a few moments alone, checking over the variables, Hakkai headed down the ramp and began to make his way to one of the Hakuryuu's docking ports. Goku thought they would be able to slip in under the Cloudstation, angle the Hakuryuu sideways and dock using one of the supply ports. Infiltration was always a bitch, Hakkai thought. He was also worried about the lack of battlecruisers – it made things easier but Hakkai couldn't help feeling some unease over the situation. He wondered if it they were about to trigger a large trap, designed especially for them.

Sanzo, Goku and Gojyo were already waiting at the docking port. Hakkai felt a slight movement beneath his feet, like he was freefalling and then things steadied out as the ship's internal gravity sorted itself out.

"Hakuryuu just rolled, ready to dock," Goku said unnecessarily, probably for Sanzo's benefit.

"Final weapons check," Hakkai said, checking the pistol in its holster. The rest of the ikkou did the same, checking over weapons and equipment. "Let's see what's on the other side, shall we?"  



	4. The God in the Machine Part IV

  
_The Luggage Kicks Some Ass and the Ikkou Play Along_

Gojyo pressed his back to the damp stone wall behind him and snuck a peek around the corner. A blaze of violet laser fire scorched past his nose, giving him what felt like a mild sunburn. _Okay, that was too fucking close for comfort._ These Uchuujin bastards were slowing the group down, keeping them holed up like rats in one spot. Something had to give eventually.

"Pssst," Goku hissed from across the corridor.

"What?" Gojyo didn't dare risk another look around the corner.

"There's a doorway back there. Hakkai and Sanzo seem to think its some stairs."

Gojyo nodded. Anything was better than this. Gojyo was pretty sure the layout of the Cloudstation was designed to funnel would-be intruders to specific locations, specially designed to put them at a disadvantage and leave them open to attack on all fronts. It was genius planning, Gojyo had to admit. And he was sick of wandering around blindly, not knowing which way they should be heading. Plus it was fucking nearly impossible for him and Goku to use their weapons if the enemy refused to show itself.

Both Hakkai and Sanzo were waiting impatiently by the time Gojyo had backtracked with Goku. Sanzo held the door open, keeping his gun pointed beyond Gojyo, no doubt anticipating some kind of attack. Gojyo ducked under Sanzo's arm and headed along the short passageway, waiting for the ikkou to catch up.

"Yep, stairs," said Goku. "We wanna go up?"

"Yes," said Sanzo. "Nii is no doubt near the top of the Cloudstation. Whatever's pushing out the Minus Wave has to have a clear view into space with nothing to block the signal."

"I agree," muttered Hakkai. He sounded like he was in pain; he'd taken a glancing shot along his ribs, from a lucky enemy shot, about ten minutes ago.

"You should heal that," Gojyo said, trying to keep the worry out of his voice.

"I'll be fine, Gojyo."

"And if you croak, who's gonna heal the rest of us?" Okay, it was a low blow, but Gojyo didn't want Hakkai falling behind. They hadn't been partners this long, for him to lose Hakkai now over something stupid.

"I suppose you are right," Hakkai muttered, summoning healing chi and pushing it into his wound. After a few moments he straightened up and looked more alert, the lines of pain disappearing from around his eyes.

Goku chanced a look up the stairs, trying to see or hear anyone up above. "I think it's clear. Should we go?" He bit his lip as he waited on Hakkai, clearly concerned by his wound. He grinned when Hakkai nodded.

They made their way up, slowly and carefully, not taking any chances on running into any more of Kougaiji's tin-foil-clad goons. "Doesn't it bother you guys that this place is full of Kougaiji's personal guard but that Kougaiji himself is nowhere to be seen?" whispered Gojyo.

"I wonder…" muttered Hakkai, stealing a glance up the stairway.

"What?" Goku looked confused.

Hakkai paused. Everyone stopped on the staircase, grateful for the short break from climbing. "When we rescued Sanzo –"

"I didn't need your fucking help," Sanzo bit out, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

"Yes, well. When we _met up_ with Kougaiji last time, he was in an awful hurry to leave. I wonder if he's a simple pawn in a much larger game. If I'm right, we'll probably never find out, since the man in question is clearly somewhere else."

"Run off like a dog with his tail between his legs," Gojyo said.

"I think it's more a question of remaining neutral until he sees which side is winning," Hakkai added.

"This is the end of the staircase." Goku appeared from the flight above, having gone off to scout ahead.

Gojyo set off after Goku, eager to get in some proper fighting. He opened the door carefully but wasn't met with enemy fire. He turned to the group and raised an eyebrow. As he stepped into the room, a bank of low lights came on.

"This is the kitchen." Goku sounded strangely confused and somewhat pleased. His stomach rumbled.

"Huh?" Gojyo looked around. "What the fuck are we doing in a kitchen?"

"Ahahaha, it's a well-known fact, Gojyo, that back stairs always exit into a kitchen. You should know that by now."

"Fuck me," Gojyo sighed. "Okay, no biggie, let's keep moving."

They kept to the shadows, alternating point, in well practiced movements. Once clear of the kitchens, they found themselves in better-lit, wider passageways, much more well-suited for fighting. Gojyo called his shakujou, ready to finally kick some ass. Sanzo was in the lead when they reached the next door. It slid open, obviously keyed automatically. One minute Sanzo was there and the next he was gone, the sound of bullets echoing off the walls.

"Fuck." It was unusual for Hakkai to swear.

Without looking back, Hakkai followed Sanzo into the fray. Goku summoned his bo and, with a final shit-eating grin at Gojyo, followed suit. By the time Gojyo made it into the large, circular room, all hell had broken loose. The room was filled with Kougaiji's foil-clad, spandex-wearing personal guard, dying in many varied and interesting ways. Hakkai was alternately firing off killer chi shots and forming shields as weapons' fire bounced off the golden light with an angry sizzle. Goku was breaking limbs and heads with his nyoi bo (and enjoying himself), while Sanzo stood in the middle of it all, firing his gun with a dangerous, yet alluring, sense of precision.

Gojyo swung his shakujou, the jangle of the chain and the hoops on the shovel end offering a musical and deadly invitation to any Uchuujin who cared to try his luck. Fortunately for Gojyo, there were many who took up the invitation. Uchuujin blood rained upon the formerly pristine carpet, soaking between the places where limbs and bodies fell. Gojyo felt alive – this was fighting.

When next Gojyo looked up, Sanzo had holstered his empty gun and was pulling the Nodachi from its saya. Gojyo moved to cover Sanzo, who nodded acknowledgement before turning to take down one Uchuujin who'd been standing too close. Sanzo was carefully edging toward the rather ornate set of doors at the other end of the room and the ikkou unconsciously mirrored his movements while still attacking the oncoming Uchuujin. This explained the lack of enemies elsewhere, Gojyo reckoned. They'd all been stationed here, waiting for the ikkou to infiltrate.

Hakkai threw up another chi shield but Gojyo could tell he was coming close to exhaustion. He looked over at Sanzo. "You should get going."

"What about you three?" By the look of surprise on Sanzo's face, the words were out of his mouth before he'd thought about what he was going to say.

"We'll be fine. You do what you have to do and we'll do our thing here."

Sanzo paused, torn by a strange indecision. He had a smear of blood across one cheek and Gojyo was almost seized with the desire to wipe it off for him. Gojyo decided he was clearly loosing it.

"Wait for me," Sanzo said and slipped through the door.

Gojyo turned back to the room and surveyed the damage. The enemy was still coming on strong but seemed to have finally gotten a clue, becoming stealthier and less inclined to rush in without thought. This was bad news. Gojyo spared a glance at Hakkai, who had stopped trying to generate a chi shield.

"Hakkai?"

Hakkai had a slightly manic look in his eyes. "Ah, Gojyo. I think it's time to get serious, don't you?" Hakkai reached up to his ear, fingers caressing the three, small limiters there. It was one of Gojyo's' favorite spots to torment when they all made love. The slight frisson the limiters gave off made his lips tingle when he nuzzled Hakkai's ear.

Gojyo watched mesmerized as the limiters fell to the floor, bouncing on the blood soaked carpet. Goku let out a shout of glee as he rushed forward into the Uchuujin crowd and Gojyo found himself smiling. It was time to party.

_Sanzo's Nemesis is Revealed_

Sanzo walked forward, his steps carefully measured, echoing in the sudden silence of the cavernous room. The place was hushed and had an almost holy ambiance to it, although the atmosphere was somewhat corrupt. It was imbued with the presence of one man in particular and Sanzo had to grit his teeth against the sudden rage he felt bubbling up inside him.

He was familiar with this presence; after all, he had looked upon Nii at one time as a person might look upon an uncle or a close family friend.

A shape moved amongst the other shadows at the center of the room. Sanzo walked forward, refusing to show fear or anger or any of the myriad emotions that churned inside him.

"Have you come for revenge, Genjyo Sanzo?" The voice was sibilant, charming but oily all at once.

Sanzo snorted. "Perhaps. I wanted to see your treacherous face one last time before I killed you. You not only betrayed Koumyou, but your actions destroyed every living thing on Keiun."

The shadow resolved itself into the shape of a man as it moved into the dim light. Nii didn't look much different from the way he had the last time Sanzo had seen him, although he appeared slightly older. He wore a comfortable looking black shirt and pants and had his hands in his pockets, painting a picture of studied disinterest, with his black hair falling untidily over one eye.

"Oh?" Nii replied, breaking into a crooked grin. "I'm only responsible for Koumyou but, then, he wouldn't go along with my plans. What the Uchuujin did after that is none of my concern."

"But why create a virus from the Tenchi Kaigen code?" Sanzo felt twitchy, like his skin was itching.

Nii cocked his head slightly as if thinking about his answer. "Because I felt like it? Perhaps I was curious as to what might happen? To take something so pure, so heavenly, and to corrupt it… It's a delicious thought, isn't it?"

Sanzo knew he was being goaded, that Nii wanted him enraged. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, to ignore the way the code was now burning under his skin. Sanzo realized, belatedly, that the virus must be close by, if SUTRA was reacting to it so aggressively.

"Anyway, I've stayed too long as it is." Nii smirked again. "I was curious to see what kind of person you'd finally become, Genjyo Sanzo."

Sanzo reached back to draw the Nodachi. "This is not finished. Not yet," he snarled.

"Aren't you here to stop the virus, Sanzo? Killing me, or attempting to, would only be a distraction. Come and find me when you can devote your full attention to the task, hmmm?"

"Bastard!" Sanzo shouted as Nii's image started to fade out.

"Oh, and have fun with Ukoku." Nii's words seemed disembodied, hanging in the air long after he'd vanished.

Sanzo dropped his hands from his sword hilt and clenched his fists, feeling the sting as his nails dug into his palm. Nii was right, though. For whatever reason, he was quitting the field, allowing Sanzo to attempt to stop the Minus Wave. Perhaps Nii was bored with the project; that would fit with his personality, always moving from one thing to another. Sanzo would kill him later, he vowed, once he'd shut down the Minus Wave.

He turned to the bank of computers, searching for a port. Spotting a likely place, he reached out, half expecting the computer to be one huge trap, to blow him into hundreds of pieces. His fingers paused inches from the console, making himself consider the possibilities, trying to work his way into Nii's fucked-up thought processes. Who, or what, was Ukoku? There was only one way to find out.

Sanzo jacked into the computer, attaching the cable through the port in his neck. This part still made him cringe, the feeling of invasive technology sliding into his body. The cable clicked into place and he reached out and touched his palm to the screen, feeling his palm chakra activate. Instead of the usual sensation of code rushing through his body, the world suddenly winked into absolute darkness.

Sanzo staggered and dropped one hand to the ground, crouching down. His heart felt like it was racing a mile a minute, trying to beat through his chest. The darkness slowly resolved itself into a pale grey light, almost like fog. "The fuck?" he muttered, frowning. This was not… where he had been before. He was definitely somewhere else, because he could feel the cool ground beneath his palm. So, this wasn't an illusion.

"You're on my playing field now." Nii's voice echoed all around Sanzo, seeming to come from every direction at once. His tone was oily; it slid over Sanzo's skin like an unwelcome caress, making him shudder.

Slowly Sanzo got to his feet, pulling the Nodachi free of its saya, adopting a classic fighting stance. "Come out, you bastard," he growled as he turned around slowly, searching for Nii's location.

Footsteps echoed in front of him and a figure dressed in a black robe appeared. At first glance, Sanzo thought it was Nii, or perhaps not. This version of Nii was dressed in archaic robes with a sutra perched on his shoulders. Sanzo knew it was a sutra, because Koumyou had once shown him pictures of one. "Ukoku," Sanzo guessed.

The figure smiled. "Clever little Sanzo. Nii guessed you were smarter than you looked."

Sanzo refused to react or, more precisely, to show his rage. He reminded himself that this was not a person; this was a representation of the corrupt code: the missing piece of the Tenchi Kaigen.

Ukoku pushed his glasses up onto his nose. "Don't underestimate me, Sanzo."

Sanzo moved swiftly, slashing down with his sword as soon as he came within striking distance of Ukoku. The man simply moved to the side and, when Sanzo twisted his wrist and slashed backward, Nii's avatar winked out, reappearing a few feet away. Ukoku chuckled and crossed his arms, leaning against a tree, which had suddenly appeared, possibly for the sole purpose of giving Ukoku something to lean rakishly against, completing his attitude of indifferent cool.

"My, but that was disappointing." Ukoku cocked his head, as if studying Sanzo.

Sanzo was not going to be goaded by a mere piece of code. He attacked again, simply to have the avatar reappear in another spot. After a few minutes of this, Sanzo realized all he was doing was wearing himself down. He sheathed his sword and circled Ukoku warily, waiting for an attack which seemed like it would never materialize. He felt the code inside his body burning, reacting to the proximity of the virus. He thought of using his gun, discarding the thought almost immediately, since he was out of ammo. As if the code knew what he was thinking, he felt the kanji on his back move suddenly and, as Sanzo watched, it curled over his shoulder in a line, circling his forearm like a snake, slipping downward. Surprised, Sanzo opened his palm and waited as the code moved over his wrist, pooling over his palm chakra.

Sanzo smiled. The code was sentient but it also worked with the Carrier. He watched as the code moved more quickly, almost spinning now, until it suddenly solidified, turning golden. A bullet lay in his palm, waiting. It was far from just a simple bullet, Sanzo knew; it was packed with the force of the Tenchi Kaigen code. Sanzo unholstered his gun and slipped the bullet into the chamber, knowing instinctively it would fit. With a smirk, he took aim at Ukoku and fired, aiming right between the bastard's eyes.

_The God in the Machine_

Hakkai surveyed the damage in the now-quiet antechamber. He decided that the combination of blood and silver lame did not make for an aesthetically pleasing decorating scheme. The last few Uchuujin had decided en masse that this would be a good time to quit, leaving their dead and dying comrades for the ikkou to deal with. Hakkai sighed and rubbed his eyes, careful of his claws. He was tired. He had to admit that he hadn't quite expected this much of a show of force.

"Hey, you okay, man?" Gojyo rested his hand on Hakkai's shoulder, thumb rubbing against the bare skin of Hakkai's neck. Hakkai could feel one of his vines moving to caress Gojyo's hand in return.

Hakkai nodded, content for the moment to be still and enjoy the comfort Gojyo was providing with his presence. He watched as Goku moved around the room, checking for signs of life among the scattered remains of the Uchuujin war party.

"Have you seen my limiters, by any chance, Gojyo?"

Gojyo nodded and held out his other hand, pressing the metal pieces into Hakkai's palm before curling Hakkai's fingers around them. "You gonna put them back on?"

"No. Not yet. We may encounter more resistance." Hakkai slid the limiters into his pocket and then checked his pistol. "Shall we find Sanzo?"

Goku looked up at Sanzo's name. "Let's go see if he needs help kicking ass," he suggested.

Hakkai keyed open the door and stepped into the room beyond. It was dark and cavernous, but Sanzo was clearly visible in the distance, standing by a wall of computer screens. The ikkou made its way carefully across the vast space but no enemies materialized or attempted to attack.

"You kinda get the impression this place has suddenly been abandoned?" Gojyo's voice carried loudly across the room, the acoustics amplifying his voice.

"I have to agree with you," Hakkai answered. "Let's check on Sanzo."

They moved more quickly now, almost at a run, toward the figure in the distance. Goku got to Sanzo first, vanishing his nyoi bo, and reaching out a hand to touch him.

"Goku, don't!" Hakkai called. Goku's hand froze, mere inches from Sanzo's arm.

Hakkai sighed with relief. "You may interrupt Sanzo's concentration if you touch him," he added by way of explanation.

Goku stared at a screen to Sanzo's right instead, watching the code. "Holy shit," he whispered. "You guys should see this. Sanzo's fighting the virus but it kinda looks weird, ya know?"

"In what way?" Hakkai's voice sounded clipped. He didn't like what Goku's tone seemed to imply.

"Er, guys?" Gojyo was standing next to Sanzo, watching Sanzo instead of the code.

Sanzo suddenly gasped and threw his head back. His body was instantly lashed with hundreds of cuts that seemed to strike his body like a driving rain, spraying a fine mist of blood into the surrounding air. Sanzo staggered but didn't remove his palm from the terminal, his fingers sliding against the screen until the tips turned white. He was panting, eyes squeezed shut in apparent pain.

"Hakkai, we gotta do something!" yelled Gojyo, forcing himself not to reach out to Sanzo.

"Gojyo, please, don't." Hakkai knew he was pleading but, for once, didn't care. He watched as the blood began to drip from Sanzo's wounds, sliding down over his bare chest, over his cheekbones. "I don't think there's anything we can do help him, other than stand guard. Sanzo is the Carrier of SUTRA; this is something he has to do alone."

The slight tapping of a keyboard interrupted Hakkai's thoughts, as Goku's fingers flew, calling up the code. "Sanzo's fighting something called "Ukoku." Must be the corrupt code, yeah? Holy fuck; it's strong and it's mutated somewhat too."

"It's still sentient code and part of the Tenchi Kaigen," Hakkai replied quietly. "Of course it's mutated, Goku."

Goku sighed heavily. "Then let's stand guard over Sanzo. If that's all we can do, then let's do it right."

"Gottcha, monkey," Gojyo said with a grin. "But I wish Sanzo'd fucking hurry up. I'm dying for a smoke."

Ukoku was laughing. The sound set Sanzo's nerves on edge. The bullet had flown true but something had happened at the last second. There was a ripple in Sanzo's surroundings, as if Ukoku had done something with the corrupted code. The bullet, instead of putting a neat hole in Ukoku's forehead, had glanced off his glasses. Sanzo was very much aware he was playing in Ukoku's sandbox and that the avatar had complete control of the current environment. Still, Sanzo was pleased to note that Nii's avatar was bleeding profusely, rendering Ukoku almost blind as the blood dripped down his face.

"Simple weapons won't kill me I'm afraid," Ukoku said, offering up a smarmy grin. "But I'll be more than happy to show you one of my favorite tricks."

The sutra on Ukoku's shoulders began to move and Sanzo could hear the rustle of paper: a sound like hundreds of birds beating their wings. He took a step back, watching warily as Ukoku moved forward. Ukoku reached out a hand and Sanzo's world exploded into pain. It felt like his body had been torn to shreds, his skin flayed from his bones. He gasped as hundreds of cuts appeared over his body, making him curl up, crouching low to the ground as if, by so doing, he could avoid the assault of pain. The damage was done, however. It was a simple attack, over in seconds. Sanzo could feel each individual cut: his face, arms, chest, legs. Every part of him throbbed with sharp pain.

"That's only the beginning, Sanzo." Ukoku sounded amused.

Sanzo forced himself to look up from his position, crouched on the ground, forced himself to grit his teeth and stand up on shaking legs. The forgotten gun dropped silently to the ground.

"Perhaps I'll break your arms and your legs next, one by one," Ukoku mused. "I can do anything I want to you, here in my world. Hmm?"

Ukoku began to chant and the sutra began to flutter on his shoulders once more. Sanzo frowned, trying to work his brain past the pain in his body, to figure out what the fuck he was supposed to do. He'd wrongly assumed that jacking into the rogue code would have been enough to eradicate it. He'd had no idea Nii had obviously been fucking with it after he'd developed the virus. He also had no doubt that the Ukoku avatar would do exactly what it said. Sanzo was _not_ going to die, dammit; not now. If he died here, he'd be dead in the real world too.

Images of the ikkou flashed through his head and, in spite of his desire to ignore them, he found his mind lingering on recent memories. He found that, deep down, he wanted to live just a little bit more, that he wanted to experience more of life instead of just drifting through it. He wanted to _feel_.

Sanzo watched as Ukoku's sutra moved, as darkness began to spread from his shoulders, moving across the ground between them like fog.

"I can eradicate you totally, Sanzo." Ukoku smiled again. "Here, you are simply an avatar for the code: a virus in my world."

_Fuck, I'm so stupid_, Sanzo thought. _The code. I no longer Carry the code. It mutated into SUTRA. Ukoku has a sutra too… but I Carry four of the five codes and he Carries only one. I'm better than this, better than cowering here, waiting to be destroyed; I'm stronger than this bastard._

The darkness crept around Sanzo and it felt damp and cold, empty of life. He could feel it sliding over his skin, starting to eat into his will to survive. Words crept into Sanzo's brain, repeating over and over again. Underneath the pain, he could feel the code calling, singing to him, urging him to speak.

Sanzo took a deep breath as the darkness engulfed him; it was instinctual, the way a drowning person might take a last gasp for air. SUTRA surged under his skin, growing hotter, burning out the pain from his wounds. Sanzo used his last breath and began chanting, the words coming more easily, even as the archaic language burned on his tongue.

_On mani hatsu mei un… Makai Tenjou!_

The world exploded in light and suddenly Sanzo could see, not just Ukoku, but everything: the code, in its entirety, from beginning to end, from Heaven to earth. He could see the past, and what was intended for the future.

Ukoku screamed.

Gojyo barely had time to react, let alone think, as Sanzo's body jerked. Sanzo was covered in the code, over every visible part of his body, moving more quickly than Gojyo could comprehend, sliding under Sanzo's blood soaked skin. Sanzo jerked again and fell backward, landing in Gojyo's arms. Gojyo lowered him to the floor, while Goku set about hurriedly disconnecting him from the console.

"Hakkai, do something… fast," Gojyo snapped.

Hakkai knelt down next to Gojyo, calling forth what little was left of his chi.

"Wait," Goku shouted.

"We don't have time to wait, Goku. Sanzo is dying." Hakkai's voice was clipped and tense.

"No he's not. Trust the code. You guys should see this!" Goku sounded almost excited, as he looked at the computer screen and then down at Sanzo.

SUTRA continued to move over Sanzo's skin and then began to glow with a soft radiance, the characters beginning to change from black to gold. Gojyo hesitated, wanting to reach out and touch Sanzo but somehow not quite daring to. Sanzo's wounds stopped seeping blood and began to close over, knitting together slowly. Sanzo moaned and shifted on the floor, his hands clenching and then relaxing, his body still tense. Then his muscles seemed to relax as well and, for a moment, he appeared to be sleeping. The code began to retreat, morphing back into black characters before it retreated over Sanzo's shoulders, obviously returning to its previous position along his spine.

"What the fuck just happened?" Gojyo did reach out then, ran his hand over Sanzo's arm, as if to convince his brain that Sanzo really was alive.

Goku knelt down next to Hakkai and pushed a stray lock of hair from Sanzo's cheek, brushing it off his face.

"Don' touch me," Sanzo mumbled, his eyelashes flickering as he tried to open his eyes.

"Sanzo? What happened?" Hakkai asked, his tone urgent.

Gojyo watched Sanzo's face as he grimaced, shifting his body as if he was uncomfortable. Probably was, what with lying on the floor, Gojyo thought.

"Used SUTRA to eradicate Ukoku – the virus," Sanzo muttered. His eyes opened, finally, a sliver of dark violet blinking up into the dimly lit room. It seemed to take Sanzo a hell of an effort to focus but eventually he looked as if he was succeeding. "Bastard tried to kill me. Kicked his fucking ass instead," Sanzo said, sounding more like himself. "What about the Minus Wave?"

Goku grinned. "The console says the Minus Wave is no longer broadcasting and the virus is gone, like it was never there."

"Hurts. Tired." Sanzo closed his eyes and sighed.

Okay, so Sanzo must have officially lost it if he was actually admitting he was in pain. Gojyo was gonna save that for later, just to bug the asshole once he felt better.

"We should return to Hakuryuu as soon as possible. Proper explanations will have to wait." Hakkai's fingers moved to Sanzo's pulse point. "He's just sleeping at the moment. Who wants to carry the luggage?" Hakkai actually smirked.

Gojyo stood up. "I suppose I'll carry the bastard," he said, trying not to laugh – too much. "You're running on empty, Hakkai, and we need Goku to use his nyoi bo in case we meet resistance."

Hakkai looked up at Gojyo from under his fringe, a playful, seductive look in his eyes. "I still have claws, Gojyo, don't forget that."

Gojyo grinned. "Oh, I haven't forgotten," he replied suggestively. "Goku, you ready?"

"Yeah, let's get the hell of out here before some asshole decides to press a self-destruct button or something clichéd."

Grumbling, Gojyo pulled the unconscious Sanzo over his shoulder and began walking toward the exit. "Last one to get home gets a forfeit!" he yelled.

"Ugh." Goku shuddered. "If anyone ever mentions those seashells we used for the last forfeit I'll kick ass. Those things bite, ya know."

_Sanctuary, Jade Sector: And Then There Were Four_

Hakkai pushed Sanzo against the wall of the dark alley and slid a leg between Sanzo's, pressing against his erection. When Hakkai's lips touched his, Sanzo rocked his hips forward, letting out a moan. He stroked his hand down Hakkai's back and over the swell of his ass. God, he loved Hakkai's leather pants; they were obscenely tight and left little to the imagination.

Hakkai nosed Sanzo's hair to the side and began to lick and nip at his neck, kissing behind his ear and short circuiting Sanzo's brain. He squeezed Hakkai's ass, urging him closer. He was really starting to like this whole Uchuujin concept of property that Hakkai kept talking about.

Hakkai took the hint, grinding his hips against Sanzo's until the pleasure was almost painful. His hand moved across Sanzo's abdomen, under his shirt, pushing the material up to reveal more of Sanzo's skin. Sanzo's belly contracted at the touch and he leaned his head back against the rough surface of the wall, exposing his neck. The gesture of surrender was apparently not lost on Hakkai; he growled low in his throat, reminding Sanzo of the last time they'd been in an alley in Sanctuary, facing off against Kougaiji. The sound was enough to raise the small hairs on the back of Sanzo's neck, a shiver of lust travelling down his spine to pool in his gut. He gripped Hakkai's hips and pulled him forward until they were chest to chest, belly to belly.

"Fuck me," Sanzo said, jerking his hips to emphasize the point.

Hakkai stepped back enough to give Sanzo space and turned him around, stepping between Sanzo's spread legs. His hands tightened on Sanzo's hips and he squeezed slightly. "Brace your hands on the wall, Sanzo."

Sanzo tried to turn, to gauge Hakkai's mood by reading his expression but Hakkai's fingers squeezed again. "Do it, Sanzo." This time the voice was almost feral, as if Hakkai was fighting for control. Sanzo's stomach flipped with a mixture of lust and nervousness.

When he placed his hands against the sandy surface of the alley wall, Hakkai pressed himself against Sanzo's back, his hands reaching around to undo Sanzo's pants. Hakkai resumed kissing the side of Sanzo's neck, nibbling and licking until Sanzo's skin was sensitized to Hakkai's every touch.

Hakkai pushed Sanzo's pants down just enough to expose him. One hand stroked along Sanzo's erection, the other slid up over his stomach and chest to caress a nipple. "Is this what you want?"

Sanzo pushed back again, liking the way Hakkai's bare chest molded itself along his back, fitting them together perfectly. "You're still dressed," Sanzo complained. "I said _fuck me_, not piss around."

Hakkai laughed and pinched Sanzo's nipple, causing Sanzo to twist in his arms and swear, his fingers digging into the gritty surface of the wall. He felt Hakkai lean back slightly and frowned at the loss of contact. Sanzo was so hard it was starting to fucking hurt and his balls ached. When had his body gotten so dependent on these bastards?

Hakkai smoothed his hands over Sanzo's exposed ass, murmuring something Sanzo didn't catch, although he could tell Hakkai was pleased about something. He shifted his hands on the wall, feeling the tiny pieces of grit digging into his palms. The caress of cool air on his ass and a shifting of Hakkai's thumbs told Sanzo that Hakkai was getting down to business – finally. He felt the press of something blunt against his ass and groaned, dropping his head and arching his back. Instead of pushing forward, Hakkai rubbed his cock against Sanzo's entrance, teasing him with the possibility of penetration but not following through.

Sanzo rolled his hips again, letting out an almost-growl of disapproval. He felt one of Hakkai's hands leave his body and, after a few moments, return to his hip, slick and wet. Lube, _finally_, Sanzo thought.

"Ready, Sanzo?"

"I've been fucking ready for ten minutes, Hakkai," he snapped.

"I thought I would check, just to be sure." Hakkai's voice had taken on that sibilant quality again, one that Sanzo had begun to associate with Hakkai's Uchuujin side. It turned him on more than he cared to admit.

Hakkai pushed forward, no longer teasing. His cock slid in smoothly and Sanzo gasped at the sudden burn of penetration. The burn changed to a tingling and Sanzo closed his eyes, the sensation suddenly too much for him to process. "Yes," he hissed, arching into Hakkai, pushing his hips back, his body greedy for more.

He tightened his muscles when Hakkai paused, silently urging him to move. In response, Hakkai rotated his hips, grinding into Sanzo. He leaned forward and wrapped his arm around Sanzo's waist. "I won't be able to hold back, Sanzo."

Sanzo nodded, hoping Hakkai would get the point. He bit his lip and let out a shuddery breath. He felt the tingling intensify as Hakkai pulled out slightly before he slammed his hips forward. Sanzo suddenly understood why Hakkai had wanted him to brace his hands against the wall; Hakkai was going to fuck him with no quarter given.

Sanzo grunted as Hakkai thrust in and locked his elbows, pushing back against Hakkai; if he hadn't done so, he would have gone face first into the wall. Hakkai's arm tightened around Sanzo's waist until their bodies were flush. Sanzo could feel every movement Hakkai made, the way his stomach muscles contracted, the push of his hips, the slide of Hakkai's cock inside his body.

Sanzo dropped his head, feeling his hair fall forward to cover his face. Hakkai was fucking Sanzo like he meant it: hard and fast. Hakkai's breath was loud in Sanzo's ear, warm on the heated skin of his neck. Every time Hakkai thrust forward, his cock dragged over Sanzo's prostate, sending electric tingles into Sanzo's gut and along the length of his erection.

Hakkai's hand moved from Sanzo's waist down to his cock and Sanzo offered up a silent prayer of thanks to someone. Anyone. When Hakkai gripped his erection and began to stroke, Sanzo let out a noise somewhere between a whimper and a groan. He opened his eyes and stared down, watching Hakkai's hand slide along his cock, his grip loose, using only enough pressure to tease Sanzo, not push him over the edge.

Sanzo pushed back, his hips moving of their own accord, meeting Hakkai thrust for thrust. Hakkai's other hand moved up and began to tease at Sanzo's nipple and the tingling sensation in Sanzo's cock took on a desperate edge. Sanzo moaned again, feeling Hakkai pick up the pace, slamming into him. The tingles became a solid ache in his gut and Sanzo knew he was close. His hips felt heavy, his thighs were shaking with tiny tremors. Sanzo moaned, a long and drawn out noise that sounded, to his own ears, uncomfortably close to begging.

Hakkai's breath was harsh against his neck and Sanzo could feel Hakkai's lips against the sensitive skin. "Oh god," Sanzo said. He looked down, watched Hakkai's hand stroking him, moving over his sensitive skin. Sanzo felt his muscles clench around Hakkai's cock, urging him toward completion. This time it was Hakkai who let out a breathless moan.

Sanzo felt Hakkai's body start to shudder as he lost the rhythm, close to coming. His hand squeezed Sanzo's erection and he bit down on Sanzo's neck as he came. One final jerking of Hakkai's hips and a brush over Sanzo's prostate and Sanzo followed Hakkai into orgasm, his cock pulsing in Hakkai's hand.

Sanzo unlocked his elbows and leaned forward, resting his head against the wall. Hakkai followed his movement, still pressed against Sanzo's body, his hand continuing to move over Sanzo's cock, making Sanzo's body jerk with aftershocks. After a few minutes of this, Hakkai pulled out gently, being careful not to hurt Sanzo. He heard Hakkai shifting around and the sound of Hakkai's belt jangling as he zipped up his pants. Hakkai placed a gentle kiss against the back of Sanzo's neck, his tongue swiping over the place where he'd bitten Sanzo previously, his touch almost apologetic.

Sanzo half turned to look over Hakkai's shoulder, taking in the pleased smile on Hakkai's face and the flush of his skin. "Hmmm," Hakkai murmured. "We really must do that more often."

Sanzo smirked back and pushed off the wall, buttoning his pants. His breath was still irregular and his legs were still shaky but that had been one hell of a fuck. He wondered how soon they could do it again, or perhaps he could watch Hakkai fuck Gojyo, or Goku. _That_ would be hot.

"Good to see my boys are getting along so well," said a sarcastic voice. Underneath the sarcasm was an obvious fondness and, perhaps, a hint of lechery.

Hakkai stiffened and turned quickly, putting his back to Sanzo, crossing his arms and pulling a knife from the straps that crossed his biceps, assuming a defensive pose. Sanzo had to admit that Gojyo's way of carrying a set of knives was not only sexy but handy in a tense situation. He was glad Hakkai had adopted the fashion as well.

"Kanzeon?" Hakkai sounded surprised, the skepticism dropping from his voice almost immediately.

The cloaked figure reached up slowly and lowered its hood down, letting loose a wave of thick, blue-black hair that fell to her waist.

Sanzo almost choked at the vision before him: all pouting lips, gold jewelry, chains and… and _breasts. Holy shit. What happened to the lab coat? _"Kanzeon?" he managed to articulate finally.

"We got your message," Hakkai said, relaxing his defensive posture and returning the knives to their proper places. "However, since Sanzo was sure you were dead, we had to be careful, hence the little show to discourage onlookers." Hakkai waved generally in the direction of Sanzo and the alleyway.

"My, quite a show it was, too." Kanzeon leered, her eyes sparkling with laughter. "I'm sorry I missed the beginning."

"What do you want?" Sanzo refused to be embarrassed and wanted to get straight to the point.

Kanzeon leaned over and patted Sanzo gently on the cheek. "Such concern for your dear old aunt," she pouted. She turned to Hakkai and narrowed her gaze, all the playfulness gone. "Let's go in and get a drink, shall we? I haven't seen Gojyo and Goku for such a long time."

Hakkai nodded and Sanzo followed Hakkai, leaving the alley and walking around to the front of the building. They entered, walking single file down the narrow steps. As they descended, music rose up to envelop them, along with chatter and the generalized sounds of a crowded bar.

Gojyo and Goku had found a table near the back of the bar, perfect for conversation you wouldn't want overheard: hidden in shadow and surrounded on three sides by walls. Sanzo slid into the booth next to Gojyo, shifting along so Hakkai could slide in. Kanzeon sat down opposite and surveyed the ikkou.

Gojyo pushed a fruity looking purple drink toward her. "Got that in case you happened to be the real deal," he said with a grin.

"So, things went well, I take it?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"As well as could be expected," Sanzo said. He didn't miss the way her eyes lingered over the kanji on his forehead. "Nii escaped, but we shut down the Minus Wave."

Kanzeon sipped her drink. "Hmm, perfect." Sanzo wasn't sure if she was referring to the drink or the situation.

Sanzo poured Uchuujin sake for the ikkou and leaned back. Gojyo's arm snuck behind him, his thumb rubbing small circles on Sanzo's lower back in a soothing pattern. He shifted to give Gojyo room to move, refusing to look at him in case Kanzeon spotted it; she loved teasing.

"So how did you escape?" Sanzo asked. "The last I saw of you, the entire complex was about to fall on your head."

"I decided it would be prudent to let everyone think I was dead," she explained. "I used a personal transporter to get out. I 'ported to Kinzan, where we have an emergency meeting point."

"Hn." Sanzo sipped his sake, mulling that over, along with Goku's hand which was slowly creeping up his inner thigh under the table. If the perverts kept this subtle game of seduction up, Sanzo was sure he'd lose his higher brain functions soon. Not good. He squirmed in his seat.

"Do you want to get rid of the code, Sanzo?" Kanzeon asked bluntly. "I'm sure we can find three others who'd be willing to Carry the rest of it for you." She stared at each member of the ikkou.

"Fuck, no," Gojyo said. "Look what happened last time."

"But if you were a proper Carrier, Gojyo, you wouldn't get a code-high," Kanzeon said in return.

"We'll think about it," Hakkai cut in, his tone no-nonsense but polite, reasserting his leadership. "What was it you really wanted, Kanzeon? I'm sure that's not the half of it."

Kanzeon laughed. "I'm glad to see you still have your wits about you, Hakkai. I knew I made the right choice when I hired you three. Or is it four now?"

"We're a team," Goku leaned forward. "We all work together and nobody gets left out – or left behind."

Sanzo bit back a moan as Goku's hand finally reached the join of his thigh, thumb brushing across the underside of his balls. He was going to _kill_ the fucking runt when they got back to the Hakuryuu.

"That's what I thought you'd say." Kanzeon bit her lip, considering something. "Very well, I have a proposition for you all." She held up her hand. "I know you want to track down Nii, however I need your help with something else first."

"We're busy," Sanzo stated, shifting his leg so that Goku had better access to his now raging hard on. He needed to get out of here soon, so he could either kill the bastards playing with him or fuck them all senseless. Trust Hakkai to start something like this and then leave the other two to make it worse.

"If you help me, you might find Nii…" Kanzeon let the bait dangle enticingly.

"What exactly do you need?" Hakkai asked.

"I need you to pick up two men," she said with a grin, ignoring the stunned silence. "Not quite like that," she amended. "You all seem to have your hands full at the moment. I need you to find two men who have helped me in the past, who may be able to help you track down Nii. They currently go by the names Kenren Taisho and Tenpou Gensui." She pushed a chip toward Hakkai. "The information is here, along with photos. You'll find them waiting at a pickup point, the coordinates of which are also on the chip. Contact me once you've rendezvoused and I'll give you further instructions. Deal?"

Hakkai looked at Gojyo and Goku and smiled when he met Sanzo's eyes. There was warm promise in Hakkai's gaze and Sanzo suddenly felt even more aroused, if that was possible.

Sanzo reached out and snagged the chip. "Deal. We have to get going. Don't mind us."

Kanzeon apparently didn't miss the need in Sanzo's voice because she pulled up her hood and rose. "Until we meet again, then," she said with a wink, before vanishing.

"How the hell did she do that?" said Goku, with a certain amount of awe in his tone.

"Fuck knows," Sanzo said. "Frankly I don't care if she can 'port to the other side of the galaxy. Let's go."

Gojyo chuckled as his hand slid down over Sanzo's butt. "Impatient, Sanzo?"

"What do you think? You bastards are going to pay for all the teasing. _Now_."

"Somehow I'm not as frightened by that as you might believe," Hakkai mused, throwing some coins on the table and standing up. "Shall we?"

Sanzo followed Goku out of the booth, aware of Gojyo and Hakkai behind him as they climbed the stairs, already imagining his hands on their skin, their mouths on his. Hakuryuu was docked a good four klicks away: too far, too long to wait. Besides, he knew a nice little alleyway that was a _lot_ closer…

  
The end.  



End file.
